Just a Girl
by 252020
Summary: While driving across the US Kate unintentionally ends up smack in the middle of a vampire dispute that brings her into the heart of Dallas Vampire community, and every time she seems to be about to get out, she is dragged right back in. But will Godric be willing to part with her when the time comes, and will she? G/OC
1. A Vampire Cowboy

**I**

**O**

_**PART ONE**_

Another World

**O**

**I**

**Chapter ONE**

She hadn't even planned to stop in Dallas, or even Texas. The United States had never held much interest to her. She wanted to see Cuba, Brazil, Japan, China... it was the idea of seeing those countries that was the reason for her around the world trip. Not the US. She had only planed to stop over in the US to see New York and San Francisco. Yet somehow along her planning a friend had convinced her to drive across the country with her. They were going to do a Thelma and Louise thing, without the killing, robbing, and dying. But then Jess's dad had gotten worse, his cancer treatment wasn't working, and Kate had ended up driving across the United States by herself in the car Jess had bought online before she had gotten the news. Perhaps not the wisest decision, buying a car online, but it was gorgeous and Kate understood her reasons perfectly.

She also had to admit the US was prettier than she had expected, and people were not quite as stupid as she had feared they would be after having seen too much day-time TV in her early teens. And though she would probably never admit it, she had just found herself quite liking the south when her car had started acting up just out of Dallas. But now Kate found herself stranded until it could be fixed. A day's wait would have been fine, even two or three. But after a week's wait… it was beginning to push it. Not to mention all the Fellowship of the Sun bull she heard everywhere she went in the city. It was annoying. She preferred not to think too much about vampires, they tended to keep to their own crowds, but as far as she could tell there was no reason to eradicate them all. Not with that synthetic blood and all that.

According to the media the United States had taken better to the vampires when they came out of the coffin than most European countries, but walking around Dallas she was beginning to doubt that. Back home in Edinburgh they were certainly more welcomed than they seemed to be in the southern US. At home there they even had vampires doing ghost tours for the tourists. Sure, her friend told her that 'their' vampire was only three decades old, and that included his human years, but as far as the tourist were concerned he had been walking around the city for centuries, been one of the many vampires that used to feed in the underground city… it had even been his home once. Now that was utilising the vamps, they had gotten great reviews by the Lonely planet and after that they had been sold out for months in advance. At least until the other tour companies copied the idea. Still, they were the first and that still helped sell tickets. Besides, as far as she could tell Jack was perfectly alright, at least the few times she had met him, and according to James's tales.

In Dallas on the other hand the vamps seemed to be hated. She briefly wondered if they were different here. More menacing somehow. She had been to one of those horrid vampire clubs that were popping up everywhere in Louisiana with some other people from the hostel she had been staying at and that was one too many times in her opinion. But she supposed she couldn't judge the American vamps on how they were there, that was a tourist attraction. Back home she the vamps went to normal pubs and clubs. That was one of the reasons they had suddenly gotten stricter checking IDs. Serving a minor might not be too bad, but if said minor ends up being the drink there would be trouble, and not just for the vamp. Though it still annoyed her.

Being 26, newly graduated, and with the appearance of a 22-year-old, she was annoyed to suddenly be carded at every place she went, at least in the States. At home no one had tried to card her since she was 16, but that was before the vamps came out and she supposed the drinking age was different in the US. She found it hilarious that you could join the army, get married, have children, vote, and even become a vampire legally at 18, but you had to be 21 to order a beer. Still, the country was growing on her. She might have to stop making fun of her best-friend's American loving boyfriend. She liked him, but it was just too easy to rile him up with anti-America propaganda. He was one of the few people she could actually have a fun political debate with, which was strange considering her degree was in political science… others simply got defensive in a boring way, not Matt though. Jen had won the jackpot with him.

When Kate retuned to the motel for the night she had not seen a single vampire out and about, but then again she doubted any sane vampire would go to any of the bars she had stumbled into considering all the FotS talk. In two of the bars she had even seen people walking around with FotS rings or pins. Something she wondered if it should be illegal or not, was it a religious symbol or the equivalent of a nazi cross… she couldn't decide. But then again, it wasn't really up to her. She was neither a vampire nor an American. She had no reason to feel offended and no power to change things even if she wanted to. She was a tourist, and, God willing, within two weeks she would be in Mexico. Though she wasn't so sure about that considering her luck with her car and her mechanic. Wasn't it bad enough that she had to risk her life driving on the wrong side of the road?

However there was not much rest to be had. After what felt like only a few minutes of sleep loud banging from the parking lot woke her up. At first she tried to ignore it but when that didn't work she stood to see what was going on. But when she reached the window she could only stare at the transpiring fight. She had never seen anything worse than a pub brawl before, but what was going on outside seemed to be something straight out of a kung-fu movie. The way they moved, they literally sent each other flying with their kicks and punches. And that could mean only one thing; vampires. A realisation that kept her frozen in place, she had never seen vampires fight, and she knew there was little she could do to stop them. Even the police would be able to do little, at least the human police. Was there such a thing as vampire police? She knew that in some of the bigger cities back home they had a vampire or two working with them, but did they have the same in the US? Her hesitation however ended quickly after one of the fighters was thrown against her window, shattering it in the process. Had she invited him in or if he had been human he would probably have gone through the window. But as it was that magical force that kept uninvited vamps out kept him on the other side. He didn't even seem aware of her. But better safe then sorry.

Dialling the familiar 911 number on her phone, a number that she never had imagined herself having to use in her life, it was something that happened on TV, not to her, she waited.

"911, what's your emergency?"

The next few hours would perhaps be the strangest and most frightening ones of Kate's life. Instead of the police arriving as she had expected, a large vampire cowboy showed up on her doorstep, threatening to burn the motel and that 'sweet little family two doors down' to the ground if she didn't open the door. With no other choice, she did as told.

"Now, aren't you a sight." The vampire said, taking her in top to toe with lecherous eyes. "Maybe you and I should have ourselves some fun before we get down to business. I could go for a snack."

"No, thank you." She responded immediately, saying the first thing that came to her mind. "I would be pretty bland anyway, I have an iron deficiency."

"Yet you smell delicious." He told her, his expression never changing.

"It's the shampoo. Jack tells me the same thing." She added, and it was true. It was that comment that had made her keep her distance from him, even when James insisted he was a great guy.

"You've been with one of us before?"

"He does night tours, I did day tours." She informed him, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Then maybe I should show you how."

"No thank you."

"You don't know until you try." He said, locking eyes with her. "You always wanted to try being with a vampire."

"No, not really." She told him nervously, thanking whatever power it was that kept the vampire on the other side of the door. "Didn't even like Angel, and he had the hole broody thing teen girls love." Her response made his eyes narrow, the lecherous look wiped clean as if it had never been there.

"I will forget everything that happened here tonight, and you won't notice that little window being broken or getting fixed tomorrow." He told her, his eyes never leaving hers. In fact for a moment she could have sworn his pupils dilated. This was just too wired, but if that was all he wanted to hear she would swear anything he wanted on anything he wanted. As long as he went away.

"Sure, not a word." She agreed quickly. Again he only stared at her. His intense stare made her more uncomfortable than his previous lecherous one. She wanted him gone. "Is that all?"

"Come with me."

"I am pretty tired. I think I will stay here. I am leaving the city at first light."

"You know, I love it when I have to play rough. If you don't come willingly I will have to force you, and you know how I plan to do that."

"Why?"

"I would prefer just killing you, but the Sheriff doesn't like that. Hence he can deal with you."

"Deal with me? I haven't done anything!" She protested. "I mean, yeah; I saw a fight. But I wouldn't even be able to tell you who was flighting who even if he stood in front of me. All I know is that one had dark hair, and I only saw his back when he hit my window. I promise. There is nothing to deal with. I work with a vampire, I have nothing against you guys, and I have no plans on doing anything to hurt you either. You seem to have it bad enough with the Fellowship of the Sun thing."

"I don't have time for this. Come before I force you out."

"What will your sheriff do? Who is he?" She asked nervously, and as always, when nervous she had a tendency to babble. "Or she. I am not a sexist. Not that I am a feminist, well, not a militant one I-"

"Oh, shut up. If we wanted to kill you. I would have, come."

"See, when you willingly go with someone who wants to kill you that tends to be when you get tortured, raped, or both before you die. If I am going to die, I rather die without all that."

"You are insane."

"Just too much TV. Criminal Minds just happens to be a favourite of mine."

"If you don't come now, we will get you later. We already know who you are, you won't be able to run from us. Kathryn Miller, of Bath, England. MSc in International Relations from the University of Edinburgh. 26 years old, almost 27. Your birthday is in a week. If you want to live to see that birthday you better come with me now."

"How do you know that?" She asked, her eyes wide.

He smirked, knowing had won. And he had.

"Just let me put on some trousers, and a jacket."

TBC...


	2. A Vampire Teenager

**Chapter TWO**

When she left her room with the vampire she was surprised to find him jumping into a very ordinary looking car, only ordering he to get in when she stopped to stare. She supposed she could have tried to run, but she had seen Jack move and knew she he would be on her before she could blink. Instead she did as told and sat through a deathly silent 20-minute-drive. When they came to an halt in front of a large gate, the vampire told the intercom he was back and that was it. It opened and showed her a larger manor house, not too different from that of her grandparents, but very different from her own Edinburgh flat. It was beautiful, white, and nothing like she imagined a vampire house to be like. Then again, she supposed somewhere in the back of her mind she imagined them in shady Transylvanian castles or cemetery crypts. The fact that Jack had a nice flat in Cowgate, according to James, had not dissuaded that notion. In her defence she hadn't seen it, and James was a new vamp. She did not think the same could be said for the vamp by her side, much less the one he seemed to answer to. Would she be meeting his sire? Was that what sheriff meant? No, that did not make any sense… still…

The passage door suddenly tearing open, and the vamp grabbing hold of her arm dragging her out of the car, put all such thoughts on a back burner and back on the original threat, the very unpleasant leering threat whose body she was currently pressed against. He pushed her away.

"You know, you never told me your name." She said after she steadied herself, trying to retain some sort of control over the situation. She really preferred knowing the name of her executioner. After all, she needed to know who to haunt when she died. She doubted he would give her a chance to look at the wallet she had just nicked from his pocket before he killed her. She only hoped they didn't search her dead body and that he had some kind of ID or something in the wallet to identify her killer when he body was found. Still, she couldn't help but be somewhat proud by the fact that she had been able to pickpocket a vampire. She doubted even many professional pickpockets would be able to say that. But then again, under other circumstances that would probably mean a death sentence when found out.

Kate found herself unable to take in her surroundings as she was pushed and pulled around the manor, at least not until the vampire stood and straightened in front of a closed door and knocked. She followed suit and tried to regain some sense of dignity just as a voice from inside told them to come in.

When the door opened Kate had to take a double take on the teen in front of her, he had to 10 years younger. It was hard for her to believe her eyes as the vampire by her side gave a slight bow of his head as he greeted the teen. A vampire then, not that she had expected anything else. But she could not imagine the cowboy bowing to anything but a vampire, and an old one at that. Looking back at the teen she couldn't help but wonder how old he was. 500 maybe? Older?

"Stan, who is this?" He asked, looking over at Kate with curious, none threatening eyes. He was so very unlike the vampire who had brought her to this place, so... she didn't know what. This was surreal, all of it was surreal.

"Kathryn Miller, Sheriff. She was the one who called the human police."

"I told you to bring the vampires to me, not the human." He said, his tone quiet. Too quiet. "Why is she here?"

"She can not be glamoured." The cowboy replied quickly, as if the words were trying to get out faster than he could speak.

"You weren't exactly charming. You wouldn't be able to glamour a pig." Kate muttered to herself upon hearing his claim but both vampires turned to look at her. One annoyed, the other intrigued. Right, vampire hearing, she'd forgotten. She took a deep breath.

"Look, I have no intention of causing you any to trouble, as I already told the cowboy. I am out of here as soon as my car is fixed. I am heading San Francisco, then to Mexico, Brazil, Chile, then over to Japan. And the list goes on. I have no intention of staying here to make trouble for you. After this charming little visit I don't think I will be coming back to the US for a few decades, if ever. I just thought I should get help to stop the vampires before they destroyed every car in the parking lot and all the windows. My mistake. But that is taken care of now. All is good. No need to 'deal' with me. Just let me go back to my room at the motel." She tried to sound strong and calm, and she was quite pleased with the result. Not that that would fool them, they could probably hear her heart rate and at the moment she was sure it would be high enough to cause any doctor to give her sedatives before it burst out of her ribcage. "Please."

"You are safe here." The teen told her. "You did the right thing to call. It could have ended badly if it had continued. Please, allow me to offer you better accommodation until you decide to leave our city. I am afraid your particular motel is closing down for renovations as we speak."

"It wasn't that bad." She thought out loud, causing the cowboy to snort.

"Perhaps it was too dark for you to see, I understand humans do not see well in darkness. I am afraid the vampires caused quite a lot of damage." The teen offered kindly. "Please, I would be honoured if you would stay here."

"Here? In a vampire nest?" She said incredulously.

"I am told there is some kind of festival here this weekend. Most hotels are fully booked. It was very difficult to find new accommodation for the guest in your motel. I am afraid we had to send some back home."

"Look, I have nothing against vampires. But out of the three I have met two have told me I smell delicious, and I don't feel comfortable it house where that is how my blood is described. In fact, I prefer a an ocean between me and the cowboy."

"Stan." The teen filled in, much to her confusion. "His name is Stan. My name is Godric."

"Didn't need to know that." She said nervously, secretly wondering if a vamp telling you your name was the equivalent of a kidnapper taking of his mask in front of his victim. "I will find somewhere else to sleep. If worse come to worse I will find… somewhere."

Looking at her the teen locked eyes with her and once again she could see pupils dilating. Perhaps vampires were light sensitive, it was pretty bright in the room... or more likely, maybe she was imagining things.

"Stay, you will be safe here."

"I will be fine, I know how to pick a guy." She said awkwardly, noting his eyes widen in surprise ever so briefly. Why, she had no idea. "For one, keep away from the ones with pointy teeth."

"Have you had many dealing with vampires in the past?" Godric asked, doing a 180 conversation wise. Making her blink in surprise.

"No…just Jack, and not much. We work for the same company."

"Company?"

"He does ghost tours at night, I do walking tours during the day."

"A vampire does ghost tours?" He asked, leaning his head ever so slightly to the side. She couldn't tell if it was an intentional gesture or not, but being a vampire she assumed as much, regardless it made him look like a helpless puppy. Not dangerous at all.

"I don't think it was his idea, but I think he likes it now. His maker bought the company, but I have only ever met his day-guy and, of course, Jack."

"What is his name?"

"The day guy? I don't remember. I only saw him once when he promised nothing would change. The same night Jack showed up."

"I meant his maker."

"Calum Duncan." She said, but judging from the response she got she didn't have a clue if they knew who he was or not.

"That will help, thank you. Due to the Fellowship of the Sun our community is very vulnerable at the moment. I am afraid we need to verify your story before we allow you to leave."

"Look, you must come in contact with humans who see things they shouldn't all the time. You can't go and threaten or kill all of them."

"No." Godric agreed, but said nothing else.

"Fine call Jack. I will talk with him if you want. I am trustworthy."

"Due to time differences I am afraid that will be impossible at the moment. He would be in his daytime rest."

"Why don't you know this already?" She asked with a hint of desperation. "You seem to know everything else about me." Kate added, momentarily forgetting her fear. If she was lucky she might just get out of this alive. Her comment however was met by confused silence until Godric looked at Stan, and something about his blank expression made Stan elaborate.

"She told the emergency central her name."

"And my age?" Kate asked, turning to look at him.

"Motel registration had a copy of your passport."

"My education?"

"Linkedin."

"Seriously, vampires look people up on linkedin?" She asked disbelievingly.

"We adapt to survive." He dismissed her surprise.

"How old are you?"

"Older than your great grandparents." Stan said with a smirk.

"Shit. How did you do things before internet?" She couldn't help but ask, which caused Stan to roll his eyes.

"Humans." He said, as if the human race was the most peculiar thing in the world. Godric however now wore a small smile.

"Will you stay the night? No harm shall befall you, any act against will be severely punished."

"What does that matter if I ended up someone's morning snack?"

"Please." Godric added, making her sigh. She knew this was the best she would get, at least she was still breathing. A thought that made her hand go to her pocket and pull out Stan's wallet.

Godric only stared at the object in confusion, then a second later he was on the other side of the room, holding Stan up by the throat.

"I just thought I should give this back." Kate said awkwardly.

"How did you get that?" Stan growled out, though it was done with some effort as Godric still held him by the throat.

"I took it when you dragged me out of the car. Figured it would help identify my murderer. Now I doubt it would make any difference."

"We can still kill you." Stan growled, as soon as Godric let him go.

"But we won't." The teenage vamp told him firmly before he appeared in front of Kate and took the wallet that still rested in her hand. "Thank you. but you do well to remember one does not live long when one steal from my kind."

"I didn't think I was going to live either way." She said defensively. "I am not stupid."

"Could have fooled me." Stan said, once again pocketing his wallet as Godric returned it to him.

Completely ignoring both her comment and Stan's response Godric turned back to her, offering to show her to a bed. "You must be tired."

**TBC…**


	3. A Vampire Bedroom

**Chapter THREE**

Unsurprisingly Kate didn't get a hint of sleep, not as long as the moon hung high on the sky. What she did get was a beautiful room, with dark wooden furniture, perhaps the largest bed she had ever seen, and view people would kill for. Additionally she got unbreakable 'vampire friendly' UV glass, a locked door, and a bathroom with every luxury known to man, except a toilet. In short, she was in a vampire house, in a vampire room, with vampires next door, and she had no means of escape. Maybe she was too quick to think she had a chance of surviving this. Still as she saw the sun rise, and added the locks the door had on the inside she allowed herself to fall into the dreaming.

When she next opened her eyes and looked outside she wished she had learned to tell time by the setting of the sun, but it was not a talent she had. Hence she could only guess it was afternoon, whether late or early she had no idea. She tended to sleep between six and eight hours per night, but at the moment she had no clue how long she had slept. It could have been twelve or two. She was exhausted. But she supposed fearing for ones life tended to have such an affect.

Not knowing what else to do she went over to the door, unlashed it, and pulled on the handles. Godric had locked it when he left her, and she had no reason to suspect it to be open now, but there was nothing else to do. And to her surprise it opened, allowing her entrance to a long abandoned corridor.

The door next to hers was locked, as was the door next to that one. But the door after that clicked open easily as she pushed down the handle. What awaited her on the other side was something straight out of Disney's Beauty and the Beast. The library was enormous, on the shelves were thick leather bound volumes of books in all possible languages and genre. If her old university had had anything even remotely like it she would have taken that phd her parents had lobbied for. Hell, she would never have left the country. She could spend years in this room, visiting every place in the world, and in others, from within these very walls. No, the thought had barely passed though her thoughts before she dismissed it. Curiosity would have gotten the better of her, she would want to see if the places really were anything like in the books. If they weren't she needed to know, and if they were she wanted to see it. She still remembered the first time her parents had taken her to Oxford, she had just seen the first Harry Potter movie and the city had made her speechless. She had walked up a Hogwarts staircase! Likewise she remembered reading Jane Austen and then revisiting the places she wrote about in her hometown. It had been amazing. No, she needed both worlds, both the real and the imagined literary ones.

Technically she knew she should be trying to find her way out of the manor and run as fast as her feet could carry her, but she didn't seem able to force her feet to move in the direction of the door. Instead she picked up a first edition copy of the Huxley's Brave New World. The book that had made her choose to study political science in the first place. And before she knew it she was back in the fascinating and frightening world of Lenina, Bernard, and John. She didn't leave it until she was more than halfway though the book and found Godric studying her from the doorway.

"I see you found my library, thank you for not attempting to run." She didn't like his word choice, attempting, but decided not to question it.

"What sort of example would that set. Besides this will all be solved in a few minutes anyway, if it hasn't already. Have you called Jack?"

"I spoke with his maker."

"And?"

"Jack is currently out of reach."

"Unless he is in a cave somewhere, or visiting the south or northpole, nothing is out of range now days." She said, pointing out the unlikelihood of that being the case.

"It seems he is being punished. He does not have a tongue at the moment. This makes communication difficult. It will grow back in a fortnight."

"They took his tongue, why? How?" She asked genuinely horrified.

"It was not my place to ask, I would assume he spoke when he should not have." Godric reasoned calmly as if it was an every day occurrence.

"They tore out his tongue because he spoke without permission?" She asked disbelievingly, then shook her head. "I don't want to know. Can't he write?"

"He is chained up. I am afraid I cannot demand his release, however temporary, without explaining the circumstances. And such revelations would not be in your best interest."

"Why would it not be in my best interest if you tell Jack's maker why you need to talk with him? I don't understand, I don't understand any of this!" She all but yelled, before gathering her wits about he. "My flight to Mexico leaves next Saturday, from San Francisco. The Monday after I fly to Cuba. I can't stay here two weeks. I am going to be on those flights. I didn't work all though uni for this trip just to get stuck in Texas. Let me go."

"I will reimburse you for any financial losses. And while you are here you will have every luxury made available to you."

"Except a toilet." She muttered, not really thinking at all. She really should watch that mouth of hers, her father always said she was a smart mouth.

"Forgive me, I did not think." Godric apologized, realizing his mistake. "That room is the only one with a lock on both sides. I thought you would like to have room reinforced so it was strong enough to withstand even vampires."

"Is that why you locked me in, for my safety?" She asked bitterly.

"I," He seemed stumped for a second before collecting himself. "I needed to insure you would not leave during the day. But I forgot to inform the maid not to clean the room during the day, hence it was unlocked when you awoke. But I will have a toilet installed immediately."

"Or you could just let me go?" She tried, he only shook his head sadly.

"I am sorry. I try to treat humans with respect; I want our races to live in harmony. But some times desperate measures must be taken to ensure such a future." He seemed genuine and that made her silent for a few seconds.

"What are my circumstances?" She suddenly asked, breaking the silence.

"Circumstances?" He echoed questioningly.

"You said explaining my circumstances was not in my best interest. What circumstances?"

"Usually we have ways of dealing with humans such as yourself, that see things they should not. These methods do not work with you."

"How do you know? Have you tried?" She asked.

"Yes." He smiled, seeming amused.

"When? How?"

"That is not for you to know. Now, are you hungry?" He asked, changing the subject, and as if magic she suddenly felt starving.

"Yes."

"Then, would you allow me to take you out for dinner? We do not have much in ways of human food here, I am afraid. Do you have any preferences?"

"Don't you have more important things to do? Cowboy made it seem like you were his…" She fished for the right word. "superior?"

"Not tonight. I hear sushi is popular among urban youth?" He suggested in such a round about way she had to smile.

"I like sushi." She said, making him smile in return as if he had gotten a particularly hard question right.

"I will call Thomas for a recommendation." He told her, and she let him although she had no idea who Thomas was. Perhaps his human? James had told her Jack had a 'human' who lived with him. But he had never really explained what it meant. In her more morbid moments she had imagined Jack's human as a convenient meal that was always at hand. But James had assured it that wasn't it at all. She had only half believed him.

"Kathryn?" Godric's questioning voice brought her out from her reverie.

"You can call me Kate." She told him. "Only my flatmate calls me Kathryn, and that is only because he sister has the same name, and they call her Kate. She gave me a choice between my name or Kat. I am not a feline, hence Kathryn."

"Kate." He echoed, making her smile. He was kind of cute. He could have been someone's slightly dorky but extremely cute younger brother.

"So, where are we going?"

"Itadakimas" He said. "Thomas said it was the best in the city, he is arranging a table for as we speak. Please." He gestured towards the door.

"It's not posh or anything right? You are aware that I am wearing my PJ top and jeans. I am barely dressed for Burger King."

"I will have your belongings brought here tonight. Perhaps you would be more comfortable if we stop and buy a new shirt on the way to the restaurant?"

She thought about her wallet in her bag back in her motel room and shook her head. "You know what, I am not that hungry." She told him, and as if to prove her wrong her stomach chose that moment to give a loud roar. "Okay, so that is not true." She amended. "But the cowboy didn't feel the need to let me grab my bag, meaning no money for food or cloths."

"Is it not customary for the man to pay? I have not spent much time in the company of humans in the last few years. If you prefer we could stop by your motel instead?"

"Please." She agreed quickly.

As they reached the car Godric slid into the driver's seat, only for them to switch within a few minutes as it became clear that Kate's directions were more than lacking, and she still didn't remember the actual name of the street her motel was located on. Not that she had ever been more uncomfortable driving a car before, seeing how Godric seemed to take great interest in watching her drive.

"What?" She finally asked. "Do I have something on my face?"

"No, I rarely sit in this seat. I have not watched anyone drive in quite some time. I am either driven or drive. This is… new."

"Okay…" She said uncomfortably, deciding to go for a subject change. "So, when you are not babysitting humans or ordering vampires about. What do you do? Do you have a job?"

"I am afraid I do not have the time. Not many in my position do. Though my son-"

"You have son?" She almost yelled in surprise. Maybe she had been to quick to judge his age. "How old were you when you had him? You don't look more then 17 at most."

"He is my vampire son, I made him." He explained, seeming confounded by her reaction.

"Sorry."

"He has the same position I do in our community, though he runs a human-vampire club in Louisiana."

"Fangtasia?" She asked, hoping she was wrong.

"Is it famous?" He inquired politely. "He told me it is fairly successful.

"I went with some friends when I passed though Shreveport. It was… interesting."

"You did not like it?" He guessed.

"It's very… cliché. I don't see the point of a place like that… I mean Jack comes with us to normal pubs sometimes. I don't know him too well, but I can't imagine him going to a place like that by his own free will." She explained, feeling slightly awkward. It felt like naming Jack was the same thing as name-dropping, which was ridiculous. She had never bragged about knowing him in any way. In fact she tended to avoid mentioning him out of fear that someone would ask her to bring him along. He was fine in a group but she had no intention of starting hanging out with him without James to buffer.

"It is more for the humans than the vampires." Godric confessed. "Tourism, like your ghost tour."

**TBC…**


	4. A Vampire in a Restaurant

**Chapter FOUR**

Entering Itadakimas Kate mentally cursed, this was not the kind of place that suited her budget. But she supposed she could splurge every now and then. It looked like she was going to get free accommodation for the next two weeks… and the food looked fantastic. The kitchen was open, and as far as she could tell every single chef was Japanese, which she silently noted probably was a good thing. Eat Tokyo in London was also staffed by Japanese people, and they aren't too expensive. Maybe this wouldn't force her to live on instant noodles for the next few days.

"Looks great." She told Godric as they were led to a table by a kimono dressed waitress, attempting to hide her thoughts.

"The food is very fresh." He told her, which made her eyebrows rise in confusion. It was probably his strangest response yet. "I can smell it." He explained. "Sushi is better the fresher it is, yes?"

"Yeah… I guess." She agreed. It sounded reasonable. "I didn't know you could do that. I thought… never mind." She trailed off as her mind for once caught up with her mind before she finished her sentence.

"You thought what?" He asked, his head once again leaning slightly to the side as he observed her.

"Nothing." She blushed uncomfortably.

"Please, I will not be offended. It is interesting to hear what a human think of us."

"I thought- I mean, I know vampires have great eye-sight, hearing, sense of smell and all that. But I thought the smell thing was more… focused."

"Focused?"

"Like a shark." She said in a rush, making him smile.

"I suppose, we are sensitive to the scent of blood. But other things as well, hence many vampires do not enjoy the scent of human food. We can smell the decay."

"Oh!" She said, her eyes wide. "We can leave. Maybe just take some take-away? I didn't know. I never thought… Jack doesn't seem to have a problem with the pubs so…"

"I do not mind. I have been around much worse smells. And as I said, the food here is very fresh."

"What else do you smell? Can you tell where I have been?"

"You smell like me, Stan, and Isabelle, with a hint of her human. They are the strongest scents in my home. As we are the only ones who live there."

"What about that man?" She asked, trying to give an inconspicuous nod towards a handsome middle aged man two tables away.

"He wears too much cologne, he uses is to cover the scent of a woman. Not the woman in front of him. He also smells of vampire, sex and sweat."

"Seriously?" She asked, now openly staring back and forth between Godric and the man. "Can you tell which vamp? I mean, who?"

"Yes." He confessed but did not offer a name.

"Okay, I will never be able to stand in front of a vampire without feeling self-conscious again." She said, trying to remember the last time she had taken a shower. It was at least 46 hours ago. She suddenly felt very, very dirty.

"Why? You have a very pleasant scent." He told her, and for some reason that did not feel nearly as offensive as when Jack and Stan had told her she smelled delicious.

"Thanks?" She said uncertainly. But for once he continued without her probing him.

"You smell of citrus, and vanilla." Her mind immediately went to her citrus shampoo and vanilla body butter. "But under that you smell-"

"Please don't explain the scent of my blood." She cut him off.

"I apologise. Most humans are… curious."

"I prefer not feeling like something on the menu." She informed him, then amended her statement to sound at least a little more polite. "Sorry, at least not while in a restaurant."

"Of course, but it is more than that. It is not just your blood we smell. I meant no offence."

"None taken. Maybe when we know each other better we can revisit the particular subject." She joked awkwardly, Godric merely nodded.

"I assume both your parents are human?"

"Well both have a pulse, so I can't imagine what else they would be." She said with a flippant smile. "My mum is a quarter Greek, she loves the sun. As soon as there is a hint of sunshine she will be outside lapping it up as if her life depends on it. Dad, well he is more of an indoor person. But he loves his golf. We went to Sweden last summer just so he could play midnight golf in the sunshine. So if they are not human I don't know what they would be. "

"What are their views on vampires?"

"They don't care much, as long as they play by human rules than they don't mind them. We are pretty much the same that way."

"And how does your family feel about the occult?" He continued, earning himself a raised eyebrow.

"What's with the questions? Whatever it is, you are not very good at the covert thing." She told him, trying to make light of the situation while wondering what he was aiming for with his questions. She also figured she might as well humour him. She had nothing to hide. "But I suppose they have never been big fans. Just last year I learned that one of my ancestors was active in the North Berwick witch trails. Not one of my proudest moments. But they made up for it by fighting the Nazis in WWII. I'd say the karma has evened out over the years."

"I'm sorry. I have not had many opportunities to speak with humans on an equal footing. If I ask anything you find offensive, do not feel obliged to answer." He explained. "However I was in Scotland for those trails. I was with King James' court at the time."

"Really? I supposed you were against the Jacobites then?" She asked with a grin.

"I do not place much stock in religion. I have seen them rise and fall, change, and be used. It was merely there out of curiosity. I spent parts of my human youth in the region. I occasionally revisit to see how it changes. And when the opportunity arose I had not been to Scotland in many years."

"Wow, how old are? Or is that rude to ask?" She wondered out loud.

"I am very old, even by vampire standards." She told her without any inflection.

"Fine, I'll take a hint." She agreed, trying to hide her disappointment. "So your son..." It felt weird calling any vampire someone's son, especially when the 'father' didn't look old enough to even have a toddler. "was that the big blond one sitting on a throne in Fangtasia?" She asked, attempting to change the subject.

"I would imagine so. He comes from north, today I believe you would consider it a part of Sweden."

"Sweden was first mentioned by a roman senator in the first century." She said, suddenly feeling overwhelmed. "How old are you? How old is he?"

"That is a peculiar thing to know." He said, seemingly genuinely surprised. "But it was not mentioned as a country, it was merely a tribe back then. It inhabited only a very small part of what you today would call Sweden. May I ask how you came by this knowledge?"

"Drunk exchange students. A Dane and a Swede trying to prove which country was older." She confessed, normally such a confession would have been accompanied with a sheepish smile. But at the moment she did not feel particularly sheepish, she was stunned.

"Going by today's perimeters Denmark is older. It is the oldest monarchy in Europe. Generally the unification or birth of Sweden as a nation is considered a more complicated matter."

"So he is not that old?" She asked, somewhat shaken.

"No, Eric is not 2000 years old." He informed her with a compassionate smile, seeming to see the affect such an idea had on her. "Sweden did not become the monarchy of today until the 16th century."

The comment made her laugh, though she was not sure of it was relief or genuine amusement, but in the end she smiled at Godric.

"You are like a walking history book."

"The Scandinavian countries are special to me." He confessed.

"But you are not from Scandinavia. You are a Britt, like me." She said.

"I was a child when I was taken from my home. I am not exactly sure from where I hale. But I remember travelling over water. Perhaps I am a Britt. Perhaps you would call me… French" He said after some consideration.

"Sorry." She apologised. Feeling uncomfortable she quickly changed the subject. She would imagine it a sore one. "I was born in Bath, then I moved to Bristol when I was thirteen. Then I went to London for my undergrad and Edinburgh for my postgrad."

"And now you are travelling to see the world."

"I want to see the places I read about." She shrugged, trying to hide her unease as suddenly the unlikelihood of her actually getting to do so hit her. Reading her like book Godric smiled compassionately.

"If what you have told us is the truth, you have no need to fear. You will see all these places. This I swear to you."

"I won't see all of them. I doubt I will get to see North Korea." She began to babble, trying to occupy her own thoughts. "The South will have to do. And some of the places and things I want to see are long gone. But it will still fun to see where they used to be though. I remember going to Greece as a kid. My mum is a professor in ancient history at University of Bristol. During the trip she would tell me the old myths connected to every island we visited. Ever since I want to see every place I read about, fiction or factual, and know everything about every place I visit. It's even better when I can get both at the same time. I remember sitting by the Aegean sea reading the Iliad when I was a teenager. My friend thought I was mad, but I thought it was magical." She laughed. "When I went to Rome on a school trip I stopped and just stared at an old slab of stone in Forum Romanum, I was completely.., I can't describe it. Then when my classmate finally got my attention and he asked what I was doing and I looked up at him with this huge grin on my face and said, 'that, right there, is where they showed Brutus head'. Back then I didn't think much about it, now I suppose it wasn't anything to grin about. In a way he was a freedom fighter, yet history remembers him as a traitor… But just standing there made me feel part of history. Sorry, I will shut up now." She said.

"You are interested in the ancient world?" He guessed.

"I wouldn't have wanted to live then, but yeah. If time travel was possible I would go back in time, not into the future."

"When would you go?"

"Ancient Sparta." She said without missing a beat.

"A violent culture."

"Yes, but it was way better being a woman there than in ancient Greece or even Rome. If I went there I wouldn't stand a chance. In Sparta I might actually get the opportunity to see the culture first hand."

"That may be true…" He said slowly as if he wanted to add more but held back.

"What about you? When would you go to?"

"Perhaps ancient Egypt. I once met a very fascinating vampire who lived though the pharaohs. It seemed interesting." He said, then upon seeing her expression he added. "You seem surprised, why?"

"I thought you would go and see your family."

"No, I barely remember my parents. Though I remember having an older sister. She was very beautiful." She wanted to ask what had happened to her but something held her back, and instead she chose to go with a different confession.

"I wish I had siblings. Though my cousins tell me that I really shouldn't. They claim they are overrated." She laughed, remembering the conversation. "My aunt has five children, quite different from her brother."

"You have a big family?"

"I suppose." She said unsure. "I mean, I… yeah." She finished lamely. She did have a big family; she just wasn't particularly close to most of them. "I have 18 cousins on my father's side. My mother is an only child." She also figured the more the vamps thought she would be missed the likelier was her survival.

"It must be nice to have a big family."

**TBC…**


	5. A Vampire at the Dallas Aquarium

**Chapter FIVE**

After dinner Godric offered to give her a historic night tour of Dallas while informing her he had lived in the area for over a century, only doing brief stints in Europe during the wars. He had come over to the Americas in 18th century, taking great joy in creating something completely new. In Europe, he told her, he had seen things change, nothing was created from nothing. In America it did not feel that way, it had intrigued him. He had claimed Dallas for his home in 1860, something that Kate silently noted coincided with the destruction of most of Dallas Business district, which opened up many opportunities for new investors. Was he responsible? Even the plak in the museum had stated that the slaves that had been blame were likely innocent. Then she immediately berated herself for the thought, wondering if she was as bad as the Fellowship of the sun. He may have arrived upon hearing about the new opportunities, not before. And even if he had been responsible, the event had in a way aided Dallas growth and rise.

Later Godric went on to relate the town's efforts to aid the confederate army, at least financially. It was also during this time Godric had designed his home and commissioned it built. But it was not until the 1930's and the 'oil period' that other vampires began to take any real interest in the area. And so the night continued.

They did not return to his home until they reached the time of the WWII, during which Godric told her he had briefly gone back to Europe to reunite with his child. However the tale continued in the library.

After the war Dallas began to move from being merely the capital of the American oil trade to become a technological giant. It was interesting listening to him, he told the stories with passion, though as he came to the more recent years the passion he showed earlier begun to bleed out. He had held great hope for the great revelation, but seemed to have been disappointed in both the vampire and human race after. They had both fallen short to his expectations, though he seemed more forgiving of the humans. They had reason to fear the vampires, he told her. It was the vampires… there he trailed off and smiled apologetically.

"The sunrise is mere hours away, I am afraid I must return to my other duties. Will you leave in the house even if I do not lock you into your room?"

"No." She surprised herself when she noted that the promise was an honest one. She would not leave.

"Good. I have taken the liberty to have some food delivered for the kitchen should you need it. I will see you again tomorrow night." And with that he was gone.

Retracing her steps to her bedroom Kate was shocked to find a brand new toilet installed in the bathroom. Vampires worked fast. Maybe she should see if Godric could do something about her car too. His people certainly seemed more effective than her unfortunate mechanic. After a quick once over off her bathroom she headed back into the bedroom to lock the door before allowing herself a long relaxing soak. She had missed her bathtub, but this one... this one surpassed it by miles.

The next evening she had the misfortune to run into the cowboy shortly after sunset. She had somehow almost forgotten that he lived in the house as well. The previous night she had not thought about him or the unknown vampire in the house until she returned to her room for the night, or was it for the day now? She had certainly slept most of it away.

"Kept yourself alive did you?" He said, taking her in with her coffee cup in her hand.

"I'm very charming." She told him, looking anything but.

"You don't say." He drawled before taking a deep breath. "You know, some of the humans I have tasted claim it is better than sex."

She gulped. It was strange how on edge this vampire put her, while she had been able to relax completely with Godric the night before. Logically she knew Godric was much more dangerous than Stan, but it was hard to remember that when he looked at her with those inquiring eyes of his. Stan looked like thug. Then again, in nature it was usually the beautiful creatures that were the most dangerous.

"Stan, leave the human alone." A clearly Hispanic voice ordered from behind her, making Kate turn to see an elegant woman enter the room. "Godric will not be pleased if you upset her."

"If she is going to stay here she should be of some use." He argued.

"Are you questioning the Sheriff?" She asked blandly, though even Kate could hear the dangerous edge.

"Of course not."

Turning her full focus on Kate the woman smiled, and when she did she looked almost human. It had taken Kate a while to get used to Godric's occasionally unblinking eyes, as if sometimes he forgotten to go through the motion. This vampire didn't miss a beat.

"I am Isabel. I work with Godric. We really do appreciate your warning, should the fight have continued I dare not think of the damage they would have caused."

"You're welcome?" Kate said, though it came out more as a question.

"Your name is Kathryn, correct?" She asked sweetly as if Kate's behaviour was nothing out of the ordinary. Perhaps it wasn't in this house.

"You can call me Kate." She instructed. "Everyone does."

"Then Kate, Godric seems to have taken a liking to you. I understand he plans to take you to the theatre tonight." Kate's eyes grew wide.

"He is?"

"Perhaps it was meant as a surprise." She said thoughtfully, "Please do not tell on me." The request was so human all Kate did was nod. Then, giving her one last smile, Isabel turned to Stan.

"Godric wants to see you."

When the vampires were gone Kate looked down at her worn jeans, converse, and top. Should she change? She didn't know what kind of theatre Isabel had been taking about. For all she knew it could be a gala or a basement theatre. She hoped for the later. She had been forced to attend a few galas in her life by her grandparents, and if she could avoid she would never do so again.

As it turned out her worries had been for naught. After a dinner in at a small restaurant Godric guided her across the street to a showing of Miss Saigon. Apparently he had never seen it, but had planned to go. The confession that had made her laugh. Never had she imagined a vampire planning to attend musicals, which she supposed was a little racist of her. Come to think about it one of the vampire stereotypes in the human world was the sophisticated art patron. But after meeting Stan and Jack all such notions had gone out the window for her.

Her days in Godric's home continued in much the same fashion; she spent half the day in the library, and half the night walking around Dallas with Godric. Occasionally he suggested things to do, and some times she did. Godric's evening plans tended towards the old fashion, while she prodded him into doing more modern human activities, such as going to the cinema, clubs and other things she saw were recommended in the paper, or even some tourist destinations she had missed during her first week. It had all raised a few eyebrows in the beginning, at least until Godric got his more human mannerisms down, such as remembering to blink, and small unnecessary movements. Strangely enough it was the latter that he found most difficult to remember. He could not understand why humans felt the need to shift their legs while they sat, or suddenly touch things for no apparent reason. When he asked why she hadn't known what to say, she hadn't known either. But in the end she blamed it on blood circulation, and she supposed that was possible. She had never given it much thought. Thankfully he was a quick study.

By the first time she had taken the initiative to plan their evening he had it down for most part. It had been on her fifth night in the house. While reading the paper in the late afternoon she had stumbled across a particularly interesting letter to the editor protesting the Dallas Aquarium at Fair Park's decision to be open until 5 am every other Thursday, in line with their new more 'vampire friendly' guidelines. This in turn had given her an idea, resulting in Godric's first ever visit to an aquarium. Though it also offered her some unintentional entertainment, which Godric did not necessarily approve of.

"There was really no reason to scare the woman." Godric berated softly as they left the ticket lady behind.

"It was not my fault." Kate denied but was unable to keep the grin from her face. "You are over 65. She did not believe me."

"I hardly think they had vampires in mind for the senior tickets."

"Then they should specify." She didn't budge. "It saved us $5. There is no reason you should pay more than you have to just because you are a vampire. That would be discrimination."

"So you claim it was in the spirit of equality?" He asked dubiously.

"What else?" Her response was innocent but Godric did not believe it for a second. So instead she simply smiled at him. "Come, you said you had never snorkelled, they have a small scale replica of the barrier reef somewhere around here. And then there is a shark tunnel, don't you want to see who has the biggest teeth? You or the shark." She teased, making Godric smile faintly, amused at her childish antics. Though that did not mean Kate didn't genuinely want to go, she had never been to a shark tunnel before. The closest thing she had been to a shark was a baby reef shark when she went snorkelling in Thailand with her parents. And she wasn't sure she had really seen one, in her opinion the blurry shape could have been anything. But she supposed the guide wanted to make the most out of the experience for them.

It wasn't until four in the morning she and Godric left the aquarium, having spent almost an hour sitting in silence just staring into one particularly majestic aquarium in the nearly abandoned aquarium. It almost made Kate wish she was a fish so she could always be surrounded by such beauty. But she had instead promised herself to take a PADI course in either Australia or Borneo. By the time she returned to the UK she would be a certified scuba diver and there would be no need for such wishes.

Time went quickly after that and soon the two week mark had come and went. And after a long conversation between Godric and Jack (at least it felt long in Kate's opinion) she had earned her freedom. Jack had vouched for her, so to speak. She supposed she owed him one now. No doubt he wouldn't let her forget it.

After the call Godric had generously offered to arrange her new travel arrangements, since he had caused the complications. He had even going as far as organising a direct flight between San Francisco and Cuba on her behalf. She had no idea how he had managed that. She thought the trade embargo between the two nations made such flights impossible. But Godric had arranged it with one phone call. And that had been that. After that she had almost wanted to ask him to come with her, but in the end she had only thanked him. What however had followed was an hour of setting up a facebook account for the vampire, and explaining how it worked so they could keep in touch during her travels. She tended to be horrid with e-mails and had told him so. It had been far more amusing than when she had set up her own eight years earlier.

Her last evening with Godric had however ended quite differently from how she had imagined it. She had gone to the loo and returned to find an empty table, with only a set of car keys where she had been sitting. Something that in turn had set another chain of events into action, beginning with Stan's accusation her of having something to do with the other vampire's disappearance, followed by a search for the missing Sheriff.

By the time she woke up the next day she had all but decided to stay until Godric was back and safe, it was only the sudden locked door that had caused her to loose her temper. Not surprisingly Stan had been the responsible party. Isabel had looked genuinely surprised to see her still there when night fell.

"You do not need to stay, though I am sure Godric will appreciate your concern."

"She is not going anywhere." Stan had interjected. "As far as we know she is behind this. It could all be a plot by those bastard at the Fellowship of the Sun."

"That is highly doubtful, we have done a thorough background check on Kate, as you know." That was news to Kate, though she was not surprised.

"Then how did they know where he was?" Stan, it appeared, was not as easily convinced as Isabel, but his comment did make Kate snap.

"I didn't tell anyone anything! How could I, I still haven't gotten my phone back and i haven't had access to internet."

"You could have gone out during the day."

"You know she did not." Isabel reasoned, rolling her eyes as Stan glared. "Do not pretend you did not look over the surveillance videos. You have looked for something to blame her for since you met her. Besides, we do not know he was taken. He left his keys for Kate, and there was no sign of force. We saw him leave by himself on the video."

"She is not going anywhere until he is back."

"I wasn't planning on it." Kate told him angrily, while Isabel gave her an apologetic smile.

"I am sure he will be back soon. I am sorry, we keep hindering your travels. We will make it up to you."

**TBC…**

_Ok, so this chapter was a little longer then usual since I decided to add the aquarium visit. I hope you enjoyed it. I was also hoping for some pointers to get more hits on this story. Should I change the summary? I think this is a good plot, but people are skipping the story for some reason! Help!_


	6. A Vampire Gone Missing

**Chapter SIX**

A week had passed since Godric's disappearing act and he had still not returned, and even Isabel was beginning to despair, going as far as calling in Godric's child to help with the search. Despite Stan's objections. In Stan's opinion it was a done matter; the fellowship had Godric, Kate had been the one to give him up to them, and they should just go and take him back by force. Stan took no care to hide his opinions, much to Isabel's irritation. It was only her objections that kept Kate breathing. Though even she could not convince Stan to allow her the same freedom Godric had allowed in the last week. Kate was not, under any circumstances, to leave the house, ever. Not unless she wanted to be hunted down like a rabbit.

When Kate laid eyes on the giant blond vampire, Godric's son, for the second time in her life she could not help but stare. He was even bigger than she remembered. His eyes however only seemed to pass over her, to him she was little more than furniture. The thought made Kate smile, she preferred it that way. Behind him was another vampire, and what she could only assume was a human. She was more tightly wounded than a guitar string. Her giant plastered smile made Kate want to roll her eyes. This blonde looked just like one of those southern girls you would imagine shagging her own- No, she needed to stop this. She didn't know why her view on non-metropolitan Americans was as bad as it was. Most American did not think Scotland was the capital of England. They did not, but she had seen a TV clip like that once and it had stuck… She knew better, one of her old flatmates was America, but she was from New York, not the south.

"Hi, I'm Sookie Stackhouse." The blond said, her grin wider than ever. "Nice to meet you all."

"Kathryn Miller." Kate said, "the vamps are Cowboy and Isabel."

"Cowboy?" She said, looking over at Stan.

"Stan." The unknown vamp told her.

"Oh, okay. Well, the blond is Eric, and this is my boyfriend Bill."

"Boyfriend?" Kate asked before she could stop herself. How could you date your dinner?

"Yes, boyfriend." She said, sounding far too defensive for such a simple question.

"Sorry, I don't know many vampires. I am sure it's very common to… date one." Kate said. Trying to placate her. She did however notice that Eric showed a flicker of amusement at the comment, but it was gone so quickly she almost missed it.

"If you do not belong to Stan or Isabel, why are you here?" Bill asked her, successfully changing the subject.

"It's complicated. I was with Godric when he was taken." She said. "Now Cowboy is convinced I gave him up. Despite a two-week long background check, probably three now, and having a Edinburgh vamp vouching for me."

"Why was he with you?" Eric asked, seeming to see her for the first time.

"He said some vampires don't like the smell of human food. So we tried to avoid any hot food in the house. In short we were getting me something to eat." She shrugged. "It was supposed to be my last night here. I had nothing to do with this, I swear."

"She did not." Isabel agreed quickly.

"We can't know that." Stan countered, glaring at her.

"Enough already." Isabel snapped. "You are mad because Godric will not let you feed from her. As long as the Sheriff lives she is under his protection. You can not touch her."

"Maybe he doesn't, live that is." Stan countered, sounding almost as if he hoped he didn't only so he could sink his fangs into her neck.

"He lives." Eric said, glaring daggers at the other vampire. Then forced his eyes back to Kate. "Now, who are you to Godric?"

"None dinner, dinner companion?" She offered. "Guide to the 21st century?"

"I will explain her presence." Isabel started, looking back at Eric but Eric didn't look at her, in fact he didn't look away from Kate.

"Sookie, did she have anything to do with Godric's abduction?"

The next thing she knew Sookie was touching her, strangely enough Eric only watched as if expecting some kind of answer. Then finally Sookie spoke.

"No, nothing. They are…" She stopped as if uncertain before finishing her sentence. "friends. And she can't be glamoured."

"What is glamoured?" Kate suddenly demanded, something suddenly telling her that all Stan's and Godric's comments about it could not possibly be about attraction and charm. Why she hadn't caught on before was beyond her.

"Godric does not make friends with humans."

"Tell me!" Kate continued to demand, ignoring Eric's claim completely.

"Vampires can alter human minds, make them do and think stuff." Sookie answered. "They can't do that to you."

"That was what you tried to do in the motel." Kate gaped disgusted, looking at Stan. "You tried to make me have sex with you!" Then she turned to Isabel. "If you get your tongue ripped out for talking, could we rip of his dick for that?"

"Kate." Isabel scolded, but even to an outsider it was clear she was amused.

"Fine, is that why I am still here? Did Godric want to know about my family because I could not be glamoured? Does he think I am… something else?"

"It is not unheard of, humans who can not be glamoured. But it is unusual."

"In the past we would just have killed you and been done with it." Stan interjected, but Kate ignored him, focusing on Isabel's statement instead.

"It is not like I could be a vampire and there is no o-." Her protests were met by silent stares. "Seriously? There are other things?" Again silence. "You know what, I don't want to know. Godric said it was best people didn't know about me, and the less I know the less I can say by accident. I believe him. Leave me out of this." And with that said she left the vampires to their steaming.

When Kate returned to her room noticed her dirty cloths were gone and for the first time she wondered about Godric's maid. She had never seen her, or even heard her. Could he have brownie or a house-elf? She wondered before laughing at herself. She was being ridiculous. Instead she threw herself on the gigantic bed and not for the first time wondered why anyone would need a bed that big.

She was half asleep by the time she was made aware of one particular mistake that she had not done once since she arrived at the house. She had forgotten to lock the door and Eric was in the room with her. Shit.

"You have never been bitten." He said, carefully studying her neck or any other visible skin on her body.

"No, I don't really run in those circles."

"Yet you have spent much time with one of our oldest."

"Two weeks is hardly much time for one of you." She denied. "Godric said you are older then Sweden."

"Did he?" Eric seemed surprised. "What else did he tell you?"

"Lots of things." She shrugged, trying to keep a distance from him, something he noticed immediately. It amused him. His amusement in turn made her wake up in a way not even his arrival had succeeded in doing.

"What things?" He probed.

"About Texas, about being a vampire. His thoughts and views on all kinds of stuff. For example, he finds Miss Saigon useless, no real plot. I don't agree. He likes aquariums, finds them calming, and the great revelation fell short of his expectations. Really, he is your maker. I am sure you already know all this, well maybe not the Miss Saigon part, I doubt you two compare notes on musicales. To be honest, I don't think it is his thing. But he thought I would like it so..." She was babbling. Damn, he needed to move. She wanted him to move. He didn't.

"Why?" Eric demanded, though he sounded odd somehow. Hurt?

"He wanted to be nice?"

"Why did he speak with you?" He sounded exasperated by her foolishness now. Whoever said vamps didn't have feelings had obviously never met one, she thought sarcastically. "You know nothing about us. About our kind, our world."

"Maybe that was the point?" He was silent. "Now, is there a point to your visit?"

"This is my room, the outside lock was added when my prodigy was still young."

"Well, it is the only one with a toilet so you can't have it back yet." She seemed to stump him with that. "Godric's is next door, use that one. You're his kid I'm sure he won't mind."

"He added a toilet?"

"That was what you picked up on?" She asked. "Would you please leave?"

"The bed is big, I don't mind sharing." He smirked down at her, even going as far as beginning to remove his shirt.

If he expected that to make her blush and leave he was wrong. She did not mind looking when he so kindly offered. He was gorgeous. All male. Too bad he was dead and with an apatite for blood, her very human blood in particular.

"Just sleeping, no sex, no biting." She surprised herself by saying. She never was on to back down from a challenger, but still… this probably wasn't a good idea. She would never stay in the same bed as Isabel or Stan. She guessed that even with Godric gone she was somehow certain he would not let anything happen to her. She only hoped she was right in trusting his son too. It was strange how quickly she had come to trust him.

"There are still hours until day break, how else will we kill the time?" He asked, taking her in from top to toe. She was tall, even by modem standards, her curves were slightly softer than fashionable in this century, and the dark brown eyes of hers almost made him think her golden hair was coloured. Though he could not smell the chemicals. But aside from that she wasn't anything special… he wondered what his master saw in her.

"Sorry, you are Godric's son." She told him, breaking his musing. "I don't have sex with the kids of my friends. Not even their brothers."

"Vampires are very sensual creatures." He told her. "I am sure you and Godric-"

"He had never done more than placed a hand on my lower back when we met a vampire at a club I took him to."

"Did he?" He tried to go for nonchalant, but failed. "What exactly is your relationship?"

"It's complicated. Prisoner/Guard? Witness protection? Friend? You pick."

"Have you ever had his blood?"

"I think you got it wrong, vamps are the ones with the blood fetish." She told him smartly, before softly asking the one thing she wanted to ask. "Have you come up with a plan to find him?"

"If the fellowship has him we will get him back tomorrow night."

"How?"

"Sleep, little humans need to sleep."

"How do you know I won't stake you in your sleep? Isn't that why you lock the doors when you sleep? To keep us dangerous little humans out?" She yawned, surprising herself by actually being able to relax in his presence. Maybe the last week had taken more out of her than she had thought.

"There is nothing in here that can be used as a weapon. Not against my kind." He dismissed, and Kate was too tired to point out that almost all the furniture was made out of wood.

Waking up the next afternoon she was surprised to find the giant vampire next to her on the bed, she had thought he would leave, even when he said he wouldn't. It just didn't make sense. Yet curious as she was she could not stop looking at him. He wasn't breathing, but she had seen Godric do the same before, only breathing when talking. Yet this was somehow different. Eric was dead. There was a 500+ year old dead body in her bed. Would he be stiff? Would he be cold to the touch? God she was morbid, shaking her head she slipped out of the bed, careful not to touch him, and went to the bathroom.

As she sat in the bath it suddenly made sense, the huge bed, the gigantic bath, the shower size. Eric all but oozed sex. The thought almost made her jump out the bath, feeling the need to take a shower. But that wouldn't make a difference. She was fairly sure he had shagged and bled people in there too. Instead she forced the thought out of her mind, then got dressed and headed for the door only to find it locked. From the inside, and the key was missing.

Looking over at Eric's still body she glared. Then with more reluctance than necessary she made her way to the bed and the jeans he'd left on the floor. Putting her hand in his pockets, the only thing she found in them was a wallet. No keys. She was about to put it back when that naughty part of her psyche told her to look. She had seen Godric's drivers licence in the aquarium, it said he was re-born in the 15th century, but he had never said exactly how old Eric was. She opened it, and stared. What she saw didn't make any sense; 11th century. How could Godric's son be older than he was? Yes, Godric had said the older ones tended to lower their age when they registered with the humans. If they even chose to do so, but… why? Why would he intentionally mislead her?

Kate had thought she had at least some hum about how old Gordic was, apparently she did not. He had said he's been taken as a child, that he had been a slave, that he had travelled over water. That he had a special interest in the Scandinavian countries. Before she'd seen his licence she had thought Vikings had taken him, they took slaves, she knew. Later she had thought he had been used in some kind of medieval human trafficking. Now she had no idea. As far as she knew he could have been talking about the Romans, Greeks, or some other long dead people. She wanted to cry. It was ridiculous; she had no reason to feel betrayed. He hadn't lied, he had said he was very old, he hadn't wanted to tell her how old. She guessed she knew why now. He was OLD. Older than she thought possible. She knew the oldest registered vampire was 1200 years old. He lived in Prague. And she guessed that showed what the humans knew. Godric hadn't trusted her, and she wanted to leave. Now. She had missed her flight in San Francisco, but she could just skip Mexico and Cuba and just fly straight from Dallas to Brazil. Then she would continue as if none of this ever happened.

Putting the wallet back, she left the jeans where they were. His t-shirt didn't have any pockets, which meant he had hidden the key somewhere. Looking around room she sighed. There were too many possible hiding places to even start looking, besides, looking out the window she could see the sun was close to setting. Eric was old, he would wake up soon. Godric had told her that the older the vampire he earlier he rose. The really old ones could even stay awake during the day, with some difficulty. Eric would be up any minute now, he would find Godric, and she would be out of Dallas before sunrise. Simple.

**TBC…**

_So, I tried a new summary, better than the old one? I listened to the suggestions, thank you! Oh, and NO. There will be no K/E or G/K/E, just plain old G/K._


	7. A Vampire Homecoming

**Chapter SEVEN**

Only a few hours after the sun had set Kate saw Godric coming through the main door of the house, followed by Stan, Isabel, Eric, and more vampires than she had ever seen before. Considering the number she wouldn't have been surprised if every single vampire in Dallas was there. It made her wonder if Stan had gotten the war he had seemed to want since his first accusation aimed her way. Had they really wiped out the fellowship? No, no one seemed hurt, if there had been a war surely there would have been at least some injuries… Lost in her musings she did not notice them all stop, not at first. She didn't even see Godric stopping to look at her, his small smile, or Eric's glare.

"Kate." Godric finally said, drawing her attention. Hesitantly she looked at him.

"Godric." She said, but it was without her now usual warmth and he looked at her with those inquisitive eyes that usually would make her answer any question he had.

"You are still here." He said when she did not explain her presence.

"Stan decided I sold you out." She offered, sounding surprisingly hostile.

"Has he harmed you?" He asked, and suddenly Kate got one of those unexplainable insights that told her with one word she could change everything about herself. If she said yes she somehow knew what had been done to Jack would look like child's play. She had the power to do that to another person, and it frightened her.

"No." She said, but her fear must have been apparent because instead of looking relieved Godric looked saddened.

"Come with me, please." She nodded, she needed to speak with him too. Ignoring all the other vampires, except Isabel who she gave a quick smile, she came to his side. She did however choose to stand further from Godric than she usually did, out of his immediate reach. Not that that would stop him if he wanted to touch her. But he tended to respect the barriers she put up, and she really did not want him touching her in that moment.

He didn't say anything when she come to his side, only looked, in fact he did not say anything to anyone until he was seated in what Kat thought of as the 'ball room', it was nearly completely empty and for as long as she had been in the house it had never been used. She guessed she knew what it was for now, as all the vampires disbursed, only Eric remaining by Godric's side, and moments later a handful of people with small donor badges entered the room. She had never seen them before. She wondered where they came from, and as usual Godric read her as book.

"Most have called their own humans, but Isabelle arranged this on our way here, just in case. They are all willing, registered, donors. They are handsomely awarded for their services."

"They get paid? This is a job?" She almost gasped in disbelief.

"Yes, though as I understand it, it is not in allowed in most parts of Europe and Asia. Blood must be donated willingly and without financial encouragement there."

"Right." Kate said, trying to hide her shock. She hoped they had good benefits and health insurance. She also wondered who and why anyone would apply for such a job. Was it like prostitution, a last resort?

"You do not approve." Godric noted.

"No, I just…" She didn't know what she felt. "It makes sense, I suppose it is safer than offering up your neck in a dark alley."

"Yes." Godric agreed. "They are all on a special diet and health regiment to ensure-"

"Stop." She told him, looking at him as if she had never seen him before. And maybe she hadn't. She always thought Godric respected humans. "You make them sound like animals you care fore until slaughter… like they are some kind of KOBE beef or something. Are they glamoured, is that why they agree to this?"

"You have learned more about our abilities in my absence." He noted, and he did not seem pleased by it, he seemed defeated. "And no, they are all willing."

"I have." She agreed coldly. "Guess I am special."

"You are." He agreed, looking at her with unidentifiable eyes. She didn't know how long they had just stared at each other after that when Eric spoke.

"You need to feed."

"I do not need much blood to sustain me anymore." Godric countered, though his eyes shifted briefly to Kate.

"Godric." He pleaded. "If you do not wish to drink from her then I have arranged-"

"Eric." He said sharply, making the tall blond bow his head submissively.

"It is not my place. Forgive me, master."

"You should you know." Kate interjected. "If you don't want me to see, then don't worry about it." She continued, suddenly remembering why she had sought Godric out. "You are back, Jack vouched for me. It is all over, I am leaving tonight."

"I had hoped you would stay a little longer." Godric told her mildly, though there was no hint of protest or anger in his face or tone. "At least stay one more night, I will arrange new transportation for you."

"There is a flight to Brazil leaving Dallas at 6 am tomorrow morning. I am already on standby."

"I thought you wanted to go to Cuba." Godric looked concerned.

"I ended spending too much time in Texas. Now I need catch up with my other flights or I will have to buy a new around the world ticket. I can't afford that." She said, she tried to go for dismissive, but it came out aggressive instead. Accusing and offensive at the same time.

"I have told you, you will be reimbursed. This will not cost you. I know you wish to see Havana. You should go."

"I don't have forever." She told him with a distant cool calm she had never used with him before. "I have 8 months left to do this trip, I already wasted a month in Dallas. After that I need to go back home and find a job. That or, as my grandmother would say, find a nice man, meaning filthy rich, and preferably a duke or something. She is old money. She has high hopes for me." She added sarcastically, thinking the idea sounded archaic and feeling embarrassed for even voicing it.

"You come from nobility?" Eric asked, looking as if he was trying to place her at a court he had attended in a previous life and couldn't.

"My mum's side of the family. Grandmother is a marchioness. To her horror her only child married a commoner." She noted Godric wasn't surprised and she guessed he had read those backgrounds checks Isabel mentioned as well. But then, why had he then asked her all those questions about her past? He already knew... was it to catch her in a lie? She guessed somehow on an unconscious level she had thought only Isabel and Stan had read them after she heard about them. Stupid her, he had never made a secret as to why she was there.

"Please." Godric said instead. "You should not suffer for a good deed."

"Tell that to the catholic saints." She said, her hurt giving way to anger. "Look, you don't owe me anything. I get the need for secrecy. Just… I won't tell. I just want to go back to my real life. I won't cause problems for you."

The final comment made Eric snort, which in turned earned him a glare.

"What now? You get your room back. Be happy. Besides I haven't done anything. I only called the police when someone tried to throw a vampire threw my window. I'd say that is common sense."

"How do you think _they_ got Godric? He is two thous-" Eric said but before he could even finished Godric had him by the throat in much the same manner she had seen him hold Stan when he thought she was in danger. This time the only danger was the truth. He still he didn't trust her.

"I guess I finally know how old you are." She told him, sounding hollow even to her own ears. "Good bye Godric."

With those words said she left the room without a backward glance. He could keep her phone and Ipad. She just needed to get out. Technically she wouldn't have to leave for the airport for another few hours, but she wanted to leave as soon as possible.

With this in mind she turned to full attention to packing, she really should have done this when she woke up. Eric had been confident they would get Godric back, so why hadn't she? No matter. Despite her focus it somehow took her longer to back her belongings in this vampire nest than it had done in her own flat. An entire hour had passed before she had everything on her suitcase, and was pulling it down the corridor, passed Godric's room, passed Isabel's, and the library. But when she walked passed Godric's office movement caught her attention. There, behind his laptop, sat the vampire who didn't know how to turn on an Ipod. Funny.

When she looked in Godric caught her eyes, but there was no expression on his face. It was as if it was carved out of marble. It angered her, he had no reason to be angry with her. She had done nothing but wait, even let them hold her prisoner.

"Kate." Godric said, standing up. The next second he was next to her, she had never seen him move at vampire speed except to protect before. She had not expected it.

"Shouldn't you be with your guests?" She asked, it came out too silent, barely audible to a human. But Godric was not human.

"They can entertain themselves for a few moments." He dismissed her concerns. "Tell me, why are you angry with me." He asked instead, looking genuinely upset in a way he had not in front of the vampires.

"Godric. I am too tired for your games." She said almost pleadingly. "What do you want from me? You must know by now, I am nothing more than I say I am. I am no danger to you. What else are you hoping to get out of this?"

"I have not played games." He denied. "Not with you."

"That is all you have done. Your son is 1000-years-old, you let me think he was 500, that you were 600. All you have done is ask me questions you already knew the answer to. You let me walk around thinking…I don't know what I thought, but I thought you at least considered me a friend. When… If it was not a game, then it was a science project. In which case I must wonder what your premise was. That I would lie, lie, and then lie some more?"

"You treat me like I am human. You would not have done so if you knew my age." Godric admitted. "It was refreshing. You broadcast your thoughts and emotion on your face as surely as that the sun will set. Yet I never know what you will do next, or how you will react. But when you thought Eric was my age... You were not have been able to accept it. And if you knew I knew about your family when you first mentioned them, would you have been able to relax as you did? Would you not have worried for their safety?"

"So your solution was to pretend to know nothing while reading files about me and my life? How thorough are they? Do they list my first boyfriend? The name of my primary school teacher? Maybe how my grades were in third grade?"

"I have not read the files, only what Isabel found out the first night. It had only your name, your family members, your education background, what any internet search would tell you. What you have made available yourself." She wanted to deny it, claim that she had made no such information available, but she couldn't. None of it. She had facebook, linkedin, twitter, a monster profile, and the list went on. It was easy to find things out about her. But she would not forgive him so easily. Hanging on to her anger she continued.

"Did you know Stan tried to glamour me into having sex with him and to let him bite me the first time we met in the Motel? That was how he found out I couldn't be glamoured. What about you? What did you try to make me do?" She asked.

"Have I ever asked you to do something you found offensive? To tell me something unreasonable? You can not be glamoured, you remember everything I have asked of you." He told her calmly. And she tried to find something, she really did, a reason to hate him. She could not. It was difficult to stay angry with him and his cool logic. But she could not stay. And she told him so, earning herself a small, sad, smile.

"I know. I have procured a ticket for your flight. You are no longer on standby, though I had to upgrade your ticket to do so. I hope you will accept it."

"Thank you." She smiled, then as she was bout to leave the room she turned around to look at him again. "You remember how to check in on facebook, right?"

**TBC..**

This is far from the end, don't worry!

Oh yeah, as I guess you can imagine, Godric's house looks nothing like in the tv-series. It is actually old and pretty. I just saw a clip from 2x09, and wow. I did not like the 'real' house at all. = )


	8. A Vampire Saviour

**Chapter EIGHT**

Kate was halfway passed the door to the ballroom when a loud boom sent her flying though the corridor. One second she was walking, the next she was in the air, then there was only darkness. It didn't last long, but when her eyes flew open she was only aware of two things, pain and Godric. He had her head cradled in his lap, his hands calmly petting her head, his eyes only on her.

She looked into his calm orbs for a second, letting time catch up with her, before she almost fanatically tried to search her surroundings, only to find his hands holding her head in an iron grip.

"Do not move; your spine was broken. It will be very painful if you do."

"If my spine was broken I wouldn't be able to feel the pain in my legs." She told him though gritted teeth. "Believe me, I feel the pain."

"I had to give you my blood, it is healing you. But it is not finished, if you move now it will cause even greater painful."

"You gave me your blood?" She asked, then her eyes widened in horror. "I'm not a vampire, am I?"

"No, my blood also has healing properties. If I had waited for the human doctors you would have lost the use of your lower extremities. I had to act quickly."

"Not a vampire?" She needed to hear him say it.

"No." He seemed sadder somehow. And she said the first thing that popped into her mind.

"This is not your fault." She informed him, needing to do something to make him feel better and hoping she had read the situation right. His response was only a sad smile. "It's not, unless of course you set a bomb in your own house." Again he remained quiet, though his right hand had once again begun to move soothingly though her hair. The action made her want to close her eyes and sleep. It felt nice.

"Don't." Godric interrupted, as her eyes had begun to give into the desire. "You need to stay awake, gumman."

"What language is that?" She asked tiredly. "What does it mean?" He smiled.

"Swedish. I suppose Eric's presence is making my nostalgic. I have not seen him in many decades." He confessed. "It means 'Old woman'. But it is used in many ways. Many would call a little girl-child the same thing, or a friend. It is a way of showing affection and concern."

"Oh, well I'm fine." She said. "Or will be. How is everyone else? Isabel? Eric? That human girl with him?"

"Isabel, Eric and Miss Stackhouse are all safe. They are procuring rooms at a vampire hotel for the next few nights. I am afraid you will miss yet another flight."

"Seems whatever god there is doesn't want me to leave." She joked.

"Are you going to listen?" The question was soft, barely a whisper to her ears.

"For now, I am too tired to do anything else."

"We will need to leave soon. It will hurt, but I will be as careful as I can be."

"Sunrise?" She guessed.

"There is still time."

"What happened?"

"A member of the Fellowship of the Sun came into the ballroom and detonated a bomb."

"That's suicide." She said, only slightly groggy now.

"Yes, I am told he did not expect to survive." He agreed.

"Why would anyone do that?"

"He believed us a threat, and he is not wrong."

"But you are trying to help." She said. "If all vampires were more like you…"

"Then there would be no humans left." Godric informed her, looking pained by the confession. "I have spent thousands of years killing and warring. I have done horrible things."

"But you are better now. You didn't kill me."

"One good deed does not make up for all the bad ones."

"It's a start." She told him with a small smile. "Better late than never."

It would be another hour before Kate was allowed to fall asleep. Godic had kept her talking almost the entire time, before he had tugged her into bed, telling her it was alright to sleep. Apparently the healing had gone far enough that he felt sure she would wake up. But while his face had held nothing but soft concern when she fell asleep, that was not the face that was in her mind when she woke up. No, that had been a faced drowned in ecstasy and passion.

Kate could barely look herself in the mirror when she got out of the bed, she felt dirty. It had by no means been her first sex dream but the star of her dream… he was a teenager! How had that even happened? She had always been attracted to older men. Godric may be old but he had the body of a teenager! She needed to shower, a long shower, and then she would forget all about that dream. Godric was her friend. Nothing more. And she was NOT a paedophile; she did not have paedophilic tendencies. Last time she had fantasised about a teen she had been a teen. She was 27 for Christ sake! It had to be all the physical contact between the two of them the night before that was playing tricks on her mind and caused the dream, it had to be.

Yet when she came face to face with said vampire she could not look at him. It was wrong, so wrong. He said he could smell sex on people, could he smell her own reaction to her dream despite the shower? Did he know? Risking a glance at him he gave nothing away, he merely smiled at her. She in turn fought down a blush, but had no idea if she was successful or not.

"How are you?" Godric asked.

"There is not a scratch on me." She told him, trying to act normal. Though she was genuinely amazing by the healing capabilities of vampire blood.

"Good, there are a few other effects my blood may have on you that I think you need to be made aware of. I do not know all the specifics; I have never given my blood to a human before without intending to change them into vampires. But I have noticed some of the effects myself already."

"Never?" She asked surprised. "Why? You said it could heal almost anything."

"The blood is sacred." He told her. "It should not be used lightly."

"Okay…" She said, not quite understanding where he was going with his comments.

"But I am afraid I have a meeting I must attend to first. You will also be expected to be there. If anyone attempts to glamour you, I must ask you to play along for your own safety. And do not speak unless directly asked a question, this is important. You do not want extra attention. I will take care of this."

When they entered the meeting room a few doors down all other attendees seem to be present already, and Kate could not help but be very aware of Godric's constant touch as he led them to a place to sit. It was thrilling, frightening, and bothersome all at once. It brought memories of her dream, memories she'd rather forget, to the surface and she had to fight down her blush once again. But as she really took the room any such concerns vanished. She didn't know what she had expected, maybe a meeting with Stan and Isabel, maybe some building company to rebuild his house, though she couldn't phantom why she needed to be there for that. What she had not expected was a blond middle-aged looking vampire sitting there as if she owned the place in one of the sofas. Nor that Godric would listen to her and take her complaints, in all her time with the vampires he had been the most powerful one, the one the others listened to. Who was this woman?

"Handing yourself over to the Fellowship of Sun, what were you thinking?" The woman demanded, though she didn't seem to be expecting a reply. "I should be handing you all over to the Magister. And for what? A human girl?" She looked at Kate and gave a condescending snort. "And not even a beautiful one at that. I can't see what the fuss is about."

Kate wanted to know what ask what she was talking about, but she didn't. Godric's warning held her back. Instead she hoped the woman would keep talking and tell her. Instead it was Godric who spoke.

"You have seen her, now she can leave."

"I am not done with her yet. She should pay for what she has caused." The woman said condescendingly.

"You will not touch her, she is mine."

"Yours? She hasn't even been bitten."

"My blood flows in her veins, she is _mine_." He warned and Kate's head snapped to look at him in shock. She wanted to know what the hell was he talking about. But her head was not the only one that had snapped in that direction. Though Eric's eyes were as much as her as they were on Godric. "I will make amends for what I have caused. I will hand my position over to Isabel. She will make a good Sheriff in my stead. Then I shall atone. Leave my human out of it."

"Take it easy, it is just a few signatures." The woman dismissed. "I will have the papers to you to sign before dawn. I will even let you keep your human." With that she was gone without a backward glance, Kate apparently forgotten.

After that one by one seemed to slip out of the room until only Kate, Godric, and Eric remained. And just as Kate was about to speak, Eric did so.

"You can't." He said, his eyes never straying from his maker.

"We will not talk about this now, I have to speak with Kate. Later, on the roof." And with that Godric stood, his hand once again on Kate's lower back, as he led them out.

"What is going on? Why did she say I caused all of this?" She asked the burning question as soon as the door closed behind them, leaving Eric alone in the room.

"You did not." Godric assured her.

"Tell me what is going on, or I will go looking for answers elsewhere." She threatened. She needed to know.

"The last two nights before I was… taken… we were followed." He admitted.

"By the Fellowship?" She guessed. "Why?"

"When you went to see to you human needs that night they tried to follow. Before they had always stayed observing me, I did not mind. But this I could not allow so I… intercepted them. They were going to take you, make you see the errors of your ways. I offered myself in your stead."

"Why? I am a black belt in karate. You know that. And you could have taken them easily."

"Had they not taken you, they would have taken another. One not so strong. And in time they would have taken a vampire. I have lived longer than most."

"You gave yourself up to be killed?"

"I thought I could help, perhaps show them."

"You need help Godric." She said, concerned not for herself but him. "If you think that, if you are willing to give up your life so easily, you need help."

"It is too late for me." He told her with a sad little smile. "Now, I have things to tell you before I go and speak with Eric."

"This is not over." She warned, but let him continue.

"When a vampire gives a human his blood it does not only heal. It will also make the human healthier, stronger, for a time." He began and all she could do was listen. "It will make the vampire able to find the human, no matter where he or she is. It also makes the human desire the vampire who gave the blood. It will cause dreams… often sexual. I suppose it is nature's way of insuring our food source's return. I can also feel what you feel, though these effects are only temporary unless the process is renewed on multiple occasions."

"What do you mean, you can feel what I feel?" She asked horrified. She already knew about the dream, though not what had caused them. That Godric would be able to find her did not worry her either. But her thoughts and feelings were her own dammit! Hers!

"You are upset." He observed, she only glared in response. "I see. I know you wish to leave and continue your travel. But… I am very old and this will make the affects stronger than usual. Hence I would like to ask you to avoid airplanes for a while, with your increased strength you may cause unwanted and dangerous damages to the aircraft. I will ask both Isabel and Eric to help you if needed. But for now I will leave you alone. It has been an honour getting to know you, Kathryn Miller." And with that he was gone.

**TBC…**


	9. A Vampire in the Sun

**Chapter NINE**

Kate sat alone in her room, unable to sleep, unable to think, unable feel. No, that was not true; she could feel the confusion in her very core. After Godric had left she had tested her so called strength and broken the table. She hadn't meant to, she was going to see if she could leave a mark by pressing her finger against it. It had gone straight through, breaking the table in two. After that she had tried to control her emotions, tried to feel nothing so that he… so that he would what exactly? She couldn't remember what she'd been thinking, but it hadn't worked. After that she tried to see of she could feel Godric. If he could feel and locate her wouldn't it only be fair if she could as well. But apparently fairness was not important to vampire biology. And that left her where she was, a mess. A month ago her life had been simple, she had a normal human life with a vague notion there were vampires out there. But it, and they, had nothing to do with her. Now… now she didn't know what she had or what she was.

But at least she could move her legs, despite apparently having broken her spine. That, if nothing else, made it all worth it. For that alone she could live with Godric knowing what she was feeling she just wished he wouldn't have to be with her. That way he may know what she was feeling but not why or who caused it. Sadly it seemed like she wouldn't be able to get away from him for a while. She didn't trust herself with her new strength. She needed Godric to… she needed Godric. Simple as that.

After that sudden realisation Kate knew she had to find him, to apologise for her reaction earlier. All he had done was help, and she had not exactly taken kindly to it. What she should have done was thank him. And she would.

Stepping out the door she started heading towards her only lead concerning his whereabouts. The roof. It was more complicated getting there than she had expected, first she had tried to take the lift to the top floor only to find it was a locked floor, as were all the higher floors, due to the light sensitivity of the guests. In other words, that was where the vampires slept. Next she had taken the stairs, and once again they were locked. This lock however was easier to overcome; she merely used her new strength and ran.

Kate had never been an athletic person, she could walk up a few hills, you couldn't live in Edinburgh if you couldn't. But that was about as much as she could do. At least under normal circumstances, now she was able to run up ten flights of stairs without even breathing hard, a feat she had never imagines herself capable of. And the closer she came to the door the more excited she became. The sun was rising; she didn't know how she knew that, she had always been able to tell, and for the first time in weeks she would be able to soak it up without UV window hindering the warm rays. She wondered if this was how her mother felt every time she went to soak in the sun. She had never understood her before. But whether she finally did or not it seemed Kate had missed the sun more than she had allowed herself to know. Her happiness however was short lived. Almost in the same second as she'd felt it she'd also remembered just what Godric was. If he and Eric were still on that roof they would be burning to crisps soon. Surely they would have left by now... but then Godric had sounded... odd earlier.

Pushing herself even faster she found herself on the top floor before she even knew it and without a second's hesitation she stepped out on the rooftop only to find Eric on his knees in front of Godric with blood rolling down his face as if it was tears. She barely even noticed the human that had come with Eric standing out there as well. She was not important, she would be fine. She was after all just that, human. Eric and Godric were not. And they were still there.

"What is going on?" Kate demanded to know, making both Godric and Eric look her way.

"Kate." Godric said, and for once he seemed unsure. But that was fine, Kate was down right terrified. This did not look right. She'd rather have walked in on an axe murder of a stranger than this.

"Godric, it is almost sunrise. Get inside." He didn't move. "Now!" She ordered.

Instead of doing as ordered Godric turned to Eric and commanded him to do as she had said. As if in pain he did so, but Godric did not.

"Godric!"

"I'm sorry." Was all he said, looking at her with such an expression that Kate could not stop the tears from falling. "I want this."

"No, no you don't. You want to see humans and vampires living together in peace. You want to go night diving, you have never done that remember? You want to come and visit me in Edinburgh and see the new parliament building. You want lots of things. Not this!"

"I want nothing as much as I want this." He told her sounding almost guilty. Good, he should feel guilty.

"Fine, I don't care what you want!" She snapped, allowing her anger to take over. Anything was better than the panic that threatened to overcome her. "You do not make friends with someone and then kill yourself! How can you be that selfish?! I need you, you are responsible for me until your damned blood is out of my system! I just broke a table in my room, I am not paying for that." She knew she was being childish, that she was gasping at straws. But he was not allowed to kill himself!

She could feel the sun coming closer, and despite the circumstances it was as if her very soul revelled in the thought of bathing in the sunlight. She felt sick. What was wrong with her? He was going to die! "What about Eric and Nora?"

"They have not needed me in centuries."

"Please." She said sounding pitifully in her desperation. But there was nothing left but begging. She could see the shifting colour of the morning sky. Still he remained quiet. She didn't know what to do, all she knew was that the sun was not allowed to touch him, she forbid it. She would cover him with her own body if she had to.

Then, without any warning, came the burning pain, she felt as if she was on fire. For a moment she thought she was feeling what Godric was feeling. Then the pain became too intense to think anything at all. She was being burned alive and it hurt! Not knowing what to do or how to stop it, she could do nothing but collapsed in pain and curl up into a ball. She wasn't even aware of her own screams; all she knew was pain until the darkness finally swallowed her whole.

Later Kate decided that the most shocking thing of the whole event was waking up in Godric's bedroom, safe in his cool arms. His eyes were rimmed red with blood. In fact she could have sworn his eyes were bleeding blood. But he was there. He was alive. And it was day-time, she could see the sun though the window.

"Godric." She whispered in relief, a smile on her lips. He was alive. "You're okay."

"Yes." He sounded odd, neither happy nor sad. He just sounded odd. But she didn't care.

"What made you change your mind?"

"You do not remember." He said, though it sounded almost like a question.

"No… the sun was rising, then my skin felt really warm, burning. I thought I was feeling what you felt. I felt like was on fire. Then nothing. What happened?"

"I saw the sun, it touched my skin and I felt nothing. No warmth. No pain. Nothing. Instead I heard you, screaming in pain. I felt your pain though the bond. Your skin looked like it was boiling. You screamed and screamed. You would not stop screaming until I took you inside. What did you do?"

"Do?" She echoed, sounding genuinely confused, even frightened. "Noting. This is all your doing, your blood. You should have told me I would have your sun allergy too."

"It was not the blood. Miss Stackhouse had had Eric's blood, she did not react like you did." He denied, sounding almost accusing. Was he mad at her? Did he blame her for the fact that he was still alive?

"Well, I don't know what else to tell you." She said defensively. "I have spent plenty of time the sun, this has never happened to me. The only thing different was your blood."

"I have never heard of anything like it before." He mused out loud, before looking back at her with an almost scientific curiosity. "You are sure your parents are human?"

"I have told you everything I know." She told him angrily. She was not a science project. She was normal, just like everyone else.

"What about your grandparents? Or their grandparents?"

"Aside from an almost manic love for the sun on my mother's side, considering we live in the UK, there is nothing strange. We are as normal as they come."

"You never called it manic before." He pointed out..

"It's not. Mum loves tanning, which woman doesn't? My grandfather used to sit in the garden and read every time it was sunny. What is so strange about that?"

"In any season?"

"No, I don't know. I barely remember him. Mum just said he liked to read in the sun, that's where she said we got our love for books. Nothing like this ever happened before! This has nothing to do with me and all to do with you and your blood. But if it kept you from killing yourself I am glad, I would happily do it again."

"Why?" He asked, sounding beyond stumped. "I felt your pain. It was excruciating."

"But I am alive, you are alive. We are both alive."

"I am no longer Sheriff…." Godric said and there was something in his tone that made Kate's heart clench. He sounded so lost, like he didn't know what he was without the title.

"Seems like I am going to need vampire housing for a while, why don't you come with me? We can travel together. See Machu Picchu under the moonlight? Walk the streets of Antigua and Santo Dominico at night? See the great Teotihuacán pyramid under the star light?"

"I thought you were abandoning your plans to visit Mexico."

"You said to avoid airplanes, that leaves cars. I don't have a choice." She smiled, then noticed that his bleeds were getting worse. She couldn't take it anymore, she had to ask. "Are you crying blood?"

"When vampires are awake during the day our eyes bleed."

"Does it hurt?" She asked, automatically reaching out to wipe it way. He smiled at her touch.

"No. But if I do not sleep soon I will need to feed to replace the blood I have lost."

"Then sleep, just promise you will be here tomorrow night, and the night after that."

"I will not leave until we figure out what caused your allergy to the sun, and my ability to withstand it."

"Good." If it meant he wouldn't kill himself she hoped they'd never figure it out.

The next time Kate opened her eyes it was the touch of cool lips on her forehead that had woken her. Lips much like the ones that had touched every part of her body in her dreams. This time she couldn't help it, she blushed.

"Good Evening." Godric whispered, and she took note that he had taken time to clean away the smeared blood from his face and put on clean cloths before waking her.

"What time is it?"

"Almost an hour after sunset." He told her. "You have slept late. If you wish you are welcome to stay, but I must go and find my child."

"Thanks, but I should get back to my room and shower and stuff too." Then after a second, blushing once again. She didn't want to bring it up but she had to. "About last- actually this morning…." She trailed off hoping he would say something. He didn't. "I meant it, if you don't want to stay here I want you to come with me."

"I have no plans of leaving your side until you ask it of me."

"Good." And with that she snuck out the door, hoping she wouldn't need a key to use the lift down as well. She really didn't want to run down the stairs in a bloodied shirt.

**END OF PART ONE**

_A/N This is not the end of the story; I will start on Part TWO immediately. It will take place a year later. Starting out in Edinburgh. And I will post it right here after Part ONE._


	10. A New Vampire in Edinburgh

**I**

**O**

_**PART TWO**_

Life with a Vampire

- 1 year later -

**O**

**I**

**Chapter TEN**

She really should start looking for a real job; this was... well, beneath her. She had a MSc in International Relations, and a BSc from LSE, and she worked at a place that hired college-drop-outs for the same position she held. She had spent six years at uni to avoid jobs like this one. Yet...

"Kate!" James had to all but yell out her name before she reacted.

"Sorry, lost in thought." She said apologetically.

"Maybe you should consider applying for the ghost tour guide job instead of doing the walking tour. The new schedule might suit you better now days. You are half-asleep."

"My life is the same as it has always been." She protested, though she knew that wasn't true. "It's not like I sleep all day and am awake all night."

"Sure." He said with heavy sarcasm. "I'm friends with you on facebook. I saw the photos from your trip, how many were taken in sunlight again? Four? In 11 months? Besides, you can barely keep your eyes open. Either apply or tell your vampire to give you some time to sleep."

"You don't know what you are talking about."

"You forget, you supposedly live with my cousin. She is worried about you. She says you are never at home and Jack says you are on almost every vampire function with- whatever he is." Kate had often denied the fact that Godric was her boyfriend, in fact she did it every time such a notion was mentioned, but she had never been able to quite label him either. James wasn't the only one who found it strange. It wasn't that she was ashamed of him, but she remembered her own reaction when Sookie Stackhouse had called Vampire Bill her boyfriend. Besides Godric was… he was Godric. "We used have to drag to even go to the pub, now you are out every night. Because of him. You haven't changed at all."

"You didn't drag me, and it's complicated." And it was. Godric was old, his sudden move to Edinburgh was unsettling the city's vampire community. He had to be seen or there would be even more speculations of a power play or a take over then there already was. And she had to be seen with him since it was hardly a secret that he had given up is place as a Sheriff (which she had come to realise was the vampire equivalent to a human medieval lord with lands he allowed other's to use for a percentage of their profit and their obedience) and followed her around the world. Vampires, it seemed, gossiped worse than teenage girls. Though it was a double-edged sword being seen with him, on one hand it showed the others that he considered her his, that she was important to him. He would act to protect her. On the other hand it showed she was important and he would act to protect her… complicated.

"Have you even applied for any real jobs? You said you were never coming back here when you left. Yet two weeks after your return with_ him_ you call and see if you can have your old job back."

"I haven't had time yet. We have been busy."

"I never thought you would give up your life to play pet to a vampire. Maybe if you start as a night guide you could let Jack bite you in front of the tourists. That would give you a nice tip, and it's not as if you are not used to it by now." He said spitefully.

"Again, you don't know what you are talking about! And what? You have a problem with vampires now? What about your precious Jack? Has he decided to go for red-heads inste-"

"I wouldn't finish that if I were you, Kathryn." Jack's voice told her as he entered the office. "Calum wants to see you, you never know you might need me to put in a good word for you again." He smirked. He would never let her live that down.

"Mr Duncan? Not Daniel?" She asked, ignoring his comment and instead referred to the resident vampire Sheriff's day guy, the one who usually dealt with the employees of the sheriff's side business. Kate only met him twice, by now she had met the Sheriff what felt like countless of times, but it had always Godric he had summoned then, never her.

"He didn't tell me what it was about, he said you were free to bring Death if you want."

"Don't call him that. His name is Godric."

"Why not? He is a legend. He is what older vamps tell their young ones to keep them in line and not create too many of their own. I remember when Calum told me about him. Said he killed his own maker when he was just a coupled of years old. It is unheard of. I am not sure how he did it."

Kate ignored him. "When does Mr Duncan want to see me?"

"Tonight, if possible. He was surprisingly accommodating if you were busy."

"I just need to head home and change first."

"And fetch your bodyguard?" Again she ignored him.

She had met Calum Duncan for the first time two days after her return to Edinburgh, Godric needed to check in and she had gone with him. After he not so subtly stated that he would side with Godric if he wanted to unseat the King that night their now almost bi-weekly meetings had started. Meetings during which he tried to figure out what Godric was up to, and ignored her.

Kate missed their time travelling, everything was so much easier then. It had just been the two of them, no politics or future to worry about. While the initial stages had been awkward, especially the first month, she had quickly become almost dependent on his company, his quiet observations, his surprise at the most common things, yet silent acceptance of the worst and strangest.

It had taken a month for the dreams to stop, two for Kate's blood induced vampire strength be begin wane, and yet another month before she braved the sun again. This time however she had refused to allow Godric by her side, regardless of what might happen, and had snuck out during his daytime rest in Nha Trang. With the memory of the pain still fresh in her mind she had never been terrified. But if she burned she was not going to risk Godric doing the same, and she missed the sun. It pained her to be without it, even after what happened.

Telling Godric upon his wakening had not been a pleasant experience, she had never been really afraid of him until that moment. He had been furious with her. It had also been the first time they had kissed. It had not been soft or sweet. It had been filled with anger, need and passion. In a way it had changed everything. And she wouldn't have changed a thing about it. If he had been sweet, given her a choice, she her conscience would never have allowed it. He looked too young. But when he taken possession of her mouth... that had been it. That had been nine months ago. Six before they returned to Edinburgh.

Crossing North bridge from old town the newer parts of the city, Kate followed the now familiar route to Godric's house; one that he had managed to secure a within two days of their arrival, and had vampire proof within a week. She had no idea how he had done it, though she suspected glamour and/or bribes playing a key role in the endeavour. Never the less, it was beautiful and had a view that she liked to claim could rival that of Carlton Hill, at least when she was in a good mood.

When she stepped though the door she immediately went to find Godric in the library. He might have stopped being Sheriff but apparently he still owned multiple businesses around the world. Businesses Godric's old day guy had managed during their travels but that he now had taken upon himself to overlook.

With out hesitation Kate walked over to him and placed her lips on his in a quick kiss before murmuring against his lips, "I missed you."

"Did something happen?"

"No. Well, Calum wants to see me, he sent Jack to tell me. You are welcome to come if you want…"

Godric did not look pleased. "I have told them that none of them are to make contact with you. You are mine."

"Well, he is the Sheriff. And more importantly, he is my boss."

"You are going." He guessed.

"Yes. Though I am thinking about quitting. One of my classmates in London told me they had an opening at her company. She would put a good word for me. What do you say? Should I send in my CV?"

"Would you like working there?" He asked, ever the patient one. She laughed feeling a little pathetically.

"Not really. It is a risk assessment company." She said with obvious distaste.

"Then we wait until you find something you want."

"You are too good to me." She told him with a smile. Standing like this in his arm around her it was easy to forget how different they were. The thought wiped the smile of her face. She had just turned 28, and he was an eternal 17-year-old, the vampire community didn't seem to notice such things but humans did. How long could this go on? She shook her head at the thought, which in turn made Godric raise his eyebrows questioningly, "Nothing. I just need to find something that doesn't make me feel as if I wasted 6 years of my life."

"Regardless of what you do or become. They will never have been wasted." He informed her with absolute confidence. "They made you who you are." She smiled. Sometimes he was oddly sweet without meaning to be.

"I will just go change, then we'll leave?"

Almost exactly an hour later Godric and Kate entered the Sheriff's home in the heart of the old city. It was old, with hints of later added gothic themes. It was exactly the kind of home most humans would imagine an old scary vampire lurking in. Or at least somewhere in it's large basement.

Every time they had been there it had been lit up to an almost blinding level, which took some of the character and atmosphere out of the home. Godric had told her it was done for her benefit. Most vampires had forgotten how good or bad a human's sight was and tended to assume the very worst.

"Kathryn, Godric." Calum greeted as soon as they were in sight. He was, as usual, seated in a large almost throne-like chair. "Always good to see you. I would offer you someone to drink Godric, but we all know how selective you have become." He added in his usual fashion as he once again tried to find bite marks on Kate without success. "You must give her so much of your blood it is a mystery she has not turned into one of us yet."

"Kate does not like to display her marks." Godric normal response slipped off is tongue as easily as water. In reality Godric had neither bitten nor asked if he could bite her. The only time he had tasted her blood was during her periods. Something that had taken some getting used to, but she had figured it was the same as if she had rolled around in chocolate with a human lover but refused to let him lick her clean. At least that was what she told herself in the beginning. She didn't mind too much anymore, he made it worth the small discomfort on her part.

"A pity, I would not be able to resist leaving a mark on such a pretty neck." She supposed Calum tried to be courteous, but she found it icky, for lack of a better word.

"You asked to see me, not Godric." She told him, taking a step forward so she stood ahead of her escort. "I assume it is business related."

"Ah, yes." Calum said, seeming to look at her in a curious new light. Usually she said little and held herself in Godric's shadow. But this was supposedly about her, this was different. "My son speaks highly of you." This was a surprise to her. She thought Jack mainly tolerated her due to James. "So when the King asked his sheriffs to establish human-vampire affairs offices to settle disputes without our usual means, I immediately thought of you. He wants to put up a good front for the humans. In short I would like you to run my Edinburgh branch. I understand you have first hand experience in such disputes already. It was how you came in contact with Godric, yes?" So that was the story Godric had used when he spoke with Jack all those months ago. She had never thought about it.

"I have, but while I would be happy to work for such a worthy cause. I am not sure I am suitable to run such an office. Perhaps someone with a law degree or…"

"Nonsense, we have our own laws. You are a trusted member of our society. You have gained the good opinion of both young" He glanced at Jack, "and old" he looked pointing at Godric. "vampires. But if you wish to have some sort of lawyer or broker aiding you, feel free to hire one."

"It is a most kind offer, Sheriff." Godric interrupted before she could say anything else. "However, it will put her in many dangerous situation."

"Surely no one would dare to harm Death's woman," He commented, indicating it would be Godric's job to keep her safe. Subtlety really wasn't his thing.

"It is too dangerous." Godric told him calmly and Kate could only gape at him. He should know better than tempt her with comments like that, considering how long her had to convince her that 'being his' was for her own safety, and then he had sworn it would not affect her free will or choices in any way. This went right against that promise. He was trying to make decisions for her.

"We will get back to you. I will think about it." Kate said though gritted teeth before storming out of the house. Godric didn't follow. But nearly two hours later he showed up at her apartment. The delay was most certainly a good thing, or she would have simply refused to open the door and uninvited him in her anger. Now she was calmer. Taking a deep breath she opened the door and let him in.

**TBC...**


	11. A Vampire Sheriff, again

_A/N I saw I had accidently called it human-vampire relations office in the last chapters it was meant to be human-vampire affairs. Sorry about that, it is fixed now, but I just thought I should ad a note here for those who read the chapter before I changed it._

**Chapter ELEVEN**

She took note that Godric had been home to switch shirt before he had come to see her and she would not help but wonder what had motivated him to do so. Had he gone feeding? Had he drank from someone else? She was surprised to find a stab of jealousy at the thought. Then she shook her head, he was welcome to feed any time he wanted. They had never even talked about it. She had just assumed he only drank his Royal Blend or from her. It was probably both naïve and unfair of her to think so.

"If you want the position he offered you, it is yours." Godric told her when he stepped inside; the glare he got in response seemed to confuse him. "Is this not why you are upset?"

"It was always mine. He offered it to me. It is my choice if I wanted to take it or not." She informed him coldly. "I am not your pet, you do not make decisions for me. If you didn't want me to take the job you should have talked to me, told me why. Not tell someone else I wouldn't take it."

"You are mine." Godric said as if that would explain everything. "Offering you such a dangerous position without consulting me first was a severe breach of vampire etiquette."

"I don't care. To me it was a job offer. I just told you I wanted another job just a few hours ago."

"And you should find one you would enjoy. This is not one you would, I think, but you may accept this one if you so wish. The offer still stands. I will ensure your safety. It will be easier now." He added.

"What?" A bad feeling was rising in her chest. "Why will it be easier now?"

"As the new Sheriff it now falls onto me to see to the King's concerns. If you indeed want the job you will have it."

"New Sheriff?" She repeated.

"In the old world one always has the right to challenge a Sheriff or King for his position. He can step down willingly or fight. Calum was young, only eight centuries old. It was a quick fight."

"You killed him?" She asked in disbelief.

"It is our way." He sounded saddened by the fact, as he so often did when he spoke of vampire customs, but this time it only angered her. "I could not let his disrespect stand, it would have put us both in danger."

"So you killed him." She repeated, though it wasn't a question now. "Because he offered me another job."

"It is not as simple as that." Godric tried to placated.

"Then explain it to me using very small words, so that my limited human mind will be able to process it." She hissed.

"By offering you that position he not only sought to bring you under his thumb. You would also have been in constant danger, and I would not be allowed to interfere until it would be too late. I would not be allowed to be there to protect you during the dispute hearings. They are confidential in hopes of the parties will easier coming to an agreement. Only the affected parties, in this case you, the Sheriff and the King are allowed to be present and have knowledge of the proceedings. Under vampire law you would only be allowed to make a complaint to the King and Sheriff if you felt threatened in your role."

"This was human-vampire disputes, not vampire-vampire. It was to improve human-vampire relations. It would be set up for the benefit of humans, to make vampires seem more approachable. Surely the rules would be different."

"Perhaps some of the time." He agreed. "They will not be dealt with as we dealt with your case in Dallas. Most cases would have been either a theatre performance with glamoured humans, or with humans who belong to other vampires and therefore can not be glamoured into compliance without giving the owner of the human the right to kill the other vampire. Which is usually the original goal in such cases, the human is a mere pawn they sacrifice for a desired kill. Then you would be glamoured to hide the fact, and to ensure you continue to give the front they want the office to have. Then when they find out you can not be they would kill you as well."

"How do you know this will happen?"

"These 'offices' have already been tried in France. It failed miserably. Though I admit they garnered quite good will among the humans who only saw what we vampires wanted them to see, now they are nothing but a stage where the French occasionally perform for the humans. It is a foolish idea. I am afraid it is my fault the King is trying them now, I must have given him the idea when I claimed to have used them with you. That was why Calum offered you the job, he wanted me to know what was happening before, as he perceived it, it was too late. But there is nothing I can do to stop it without risking you. He miscalculated and it cost him. At least as Sheriff I can protect you, or any other human who takes the position here, as Calum would not have. Though I would still prefer it if you did not take it."

"Gordic…" She said sounding defeated. "I will never understand you or your world." Then she looked at him. "If you don't want me to, I won't take the job."

"Thank you. If you'd allow me I will look into my human businesses, perhaps we can find something else you would enjoy."

"I will find something on my own." She insisted. "But thank you."

"Why will you not accept my help?" He asked with affectionate exasperation.

"I want to make my own way. Otherwise I might was well start working for the Granmother's pride and joy. I am sure she would be ecstatic if I took an interest in the family flagship."

"Flagship?"

"Grandmother's family owns the second finest Whiskey Distillery in the world. Since she disinherited mum after her marriage to dad I am her heir, it will be mine one day since she was the last of her line."

"How fitting." Godric commented lightly, smiling at her and making Kate look up in surprise.

"Why? My family reminds you of whiskey?" She was amused.

"I should not have said anything, I'm sorry." He backtracked immediately.

"Tell me." She smiled, whatever the reason it sounded interesting.

"Your blood tastes like no other I have ever tasted. Should it have been a little more potent it would be painful to drink, as it is gives a slight burning sensation as it goes down. Quite pleasant, when you get used to it. I understand whiskey has the same effect on humans."

"Seriously?" Kate asked shocked, and a little appalled. "My blood is vamp whiskey?"

"I apologize, you have made it quite clear you do not wish to know how you taste or smell to us… I should not have said anything."

"I asked. Anything else you want to tell me about my blood?" She wasn't sure she wanted to know. "Does it make you intoxicated too?"

"No, but I have noticed it is more potent when you have been spent time in the sun."

"So I'm bottled sunshine?" She said sarcastically.

"I… yes." He seemed surprised. "In a very mild dose."

"So, are you saying I can't use it as a weapon?" She teased.

"You must never tell anyone." He ordered, sounding frighteningly serious. "Never. You are something other than human, perhaps far back, but still… no one can ever know."

"If I am not human, then what am I?" She asked annoyed, and slightly exasperated. Didn't the three weeks of background search and observations in Dallas prove as much?

"Fae blood has been known to allow vampires to walk in sunlight."

"Fae? Fairies are real?" She asked, unable to hide her grin. Maybe she hadn't been far off when she considered the possibility that his maid was a brownie.

"Not the kind you are imagining." Godric told her. "I would imagine Miss Stackhouse has fae blood in her, her gift is very…"

"What are you talking about?"

"She is a telepath, that is why my son sent her to find me."

"She could read my mind?" She asked, suddenly those strained smiles made perfect sense. For a moment she felt guilty for the thoughts she had allowed herself to have around her, then she pushed it away. If she didn't like what she heard she shouldn't have been listening. "Why does no one tell me these things?"

"The more you know of our world, the more danger you are in. Vampires are the only ones that actively hunt humans. If you don't know about the others they will leave you in peace." He told her bluntly.

"Fine. I am human, no matter what you say. I know my parents and grandparents are human. I am not.." What exactly? "- A fairy!"

"No, you are not." He agreed. "I do not know what you are, or how you can do what you can, and that makes you even more of a mystery."

"What I can do?" She asked incredulously, she certainly couldn't read minds, or fly like him, or even see in the dark.

"I would seem you have the ability to absorb the sun's power. But I cannot explain how... Some of the fae have the power to control parts of nature, but not even they can control the sun."

"You are being ridiculous. I don't have powers. It was _your_ blood I was reacting to. And I don't know why you didn't burn."

"I suppose we will have to agree to disagree." He smiled. "It matters little if you are human or not as long as you are you."

"That's so cliché." She laughed, but couldn't help but lean in and kiss him. "You are impossible to stay angry with."

"I very much doubt that." He informed her, though he returned the kiss. "Ready to come home?"

"This is my home." She smiled. "But you are welcome to stay for the next few hours."

"It would be easier if you simply came to live with me." He sighed, looking around the apartment.

"I can't afford half the rent of your place." She commented calmly, her smile dimming ever so slightly.

"I own it, I pay no rent." He told her. "Neither would you."

"We have talked about this." She reminded him, now with a warning edge to her tone.

"And I do not understand, it would not cost me anything if you moved in with me." He reasoned.

"If you want to live with me we have to buy something together. I will not let you pay for a new house by yourself just so we can live there together. This is not the 19th century. If we are to live together we own it together."

"I can sign over half of the house in your name, or the whole house if you wish it. At least if you lived with me I would know where you were. That you were safe. Since you will not have my blood again."

"Welcome to the human world. If you want to know where I am, that I am safe, call me. Another human tip for you, women in this decade do not like being kept like prized pets or have houses handed to them as of they are noting. I will pay for myself."

"You are not my pet, you are my beloved." He told her calmly, causing her to throw her hands up in aggravation. She had never been that dramatic before Godric, but with his cool and calm arguning technic she supposed someone had to be dramatic.

"Really, we just stopped fighting and you want to start again? This is a great neighbourhood. I am perfectly safe here."

"I want to understand, why will you not live with me? I moved here to be with you. You like my home, you have said as much."

"We have only been together for a couple of months. Most of it was a vacation romance, we don't know if we will last as a couple in, for a lack of better word, real life. Besides, I need a life for myself when we…."

"When we what?" He asked, she didn't miss the dangerous edge.

"Godric, you look like you are 17. I am 28, in a few years I will look old enough to be your mother. Most likely, we won't last in the long run. When we are over I will need something that is mine, I need to have something left to hold on to."

"You are mine. You age does not matter. But if it bothers you you can drink my blood, it would slow you aging process. Or I can make you a vampire, if you wish."

"I spent 3 months without any sun because of your blood, I would not survive being a vampire, and I will not become a V addict with a sun allergy."

"You plan to leave me then." He summarised almost coldly. This was not going well. "This is why you will not live with me, or accept my help."

"I am not leaving you." She protested. "I just… I don't know how to do this… this is all new to me. I never even planned to kiss a vampire, much less fall in love with one and contemplate a life with him."

"I do not know if I would be able to let you go, even if you ask it of me. Not anymore." Godric told her honestly, but not threateningly. "You are mine, you are my will to live."

"You can't put that much on me, I am not responsible for your life. Only you are. But I am not leaving. Don't worry. I love you. I just need time to deal…"

"Is that not what you worry about, that you will not have time?"

"Are you saying you wouldn't love me when I am old and senile." She asked in a failed attempt at humour.

"I will always love you. Until the end of time you will be my one love." She gave him a disbelieving look.

"That sounds like a long time."

"In two thousand years I have only loved you." Why could he not understand? She was not some teenage girl that wanted promises of eternal love. The very thought of such a thing scared the hell out of her. Why could he not be happy with the now? With what they had now?

"If we are still together, still happy, in a year. Then I will move in with you. Okay?" She offered, not knowing what else to do. He only nodded in acceptance, and for some reason it felt like he'd won despite her two very big ifs.

**TBC...**


	12. A Vampire Meeting

**Chapter TWELVE**

During the next two weeks Kate emerged herself in finding a new job, spending at least three hours a day in a café job hunting online. It felt like she looked at every job website known to man, and still, despite her two degrees, she felt as if she was unqualified for every single interesting job out there. All of them wanted 3-5 years work experience within a relevant field, and the ones that didn't were jobs she was over qualified for. The occasional exception was various positions she had no idea what they entailed or where they were located. In short it was depressing. It almost made her tell Godric to find her something, and she knew he would. Within an hour he would have at least five positions for her to choose from, they would all be interesting, and they would all be at one of his companies. She would literally be shagging herself to the job. No.

Godric on the other hand was kept busy reorganising the Edinburgh vampires, setting up the human-vampire affair office. She really should suggest a human-vampire relations/PR office to him, it wouldn't hurt if they did some PR of their own. AVL in the States was certainly active; the European Vampire League was far less proactive. Apparently they didn't have nearly as much power and influence as the American did. Most Scots had never even met a vampire, or at least not known if they had. Most people certainly didn't seem to recognise Jack or Godric for what they were when they were out. Not that she had seen Jack much since Calum's death. He seemed to hate her now, and she couldn't blame him. At least not for that, the fact that he had told James Godric had killed his maker, well that she certainly could blame him for. He certainly hadn't taken the time to explain the circumstances to him. To say that things were awkward at work would be putting it mildly, and perhaps that was why she had finally started doing something about her job hunt.

It had also led Susan, her flatmate, to ask her not to bring Gordic into the flat anymore. The fact that he had killed Jack's maker hadn't sat better with her than with James. While Susan had never been, in her words, a fan of any fang, she thought Jack was a pretty good guy. Kate was half expecting her to ask her to move out any day now. Where would she move then? She certainly didn't intend to share a flat with an undergrad. She had been too mature for them when she was one... she shuddered thinking about living with on at this point in her life. But she supposed she couldn't be picky, she would have to mention that she was seeing a vampire and that would make things even more difficult.

Susan had only agreed because she knew Kate and trusted her to keep Godric's fangs away from her. She probably wasn't so sure about that now that Godric had killed someone they 'knew' by association. Maybe she could ask her Grandmother for a loan and find her own flat… she was probably getting too old for a flatmate anyway… Come to think about it Godric would probably give her a lone too, and find her a flat in his neighbourhood, maybe even next door. No, going to Godric was not an option. She would just have to wait and see.

Half asleep from the mind-numbingly dull afternoon at the café she made her way into Godric's house without much thought. Walking into his bedroom and 'her' wardrobe in there she wondered why Godric was making a big deal about her having her own flat, James was right; she practically lived with him already. She had more cloths in his place than in her own.

Slipping on a comfy sweatshirt she made her way to his library, it wasn't as nice as his Dallas library had been but it was getting there. What she had not expected was to find him in there with a group of vampires. He had not spent much time in his house since he became sheriff again, and he had never brought vampires over. He gave a small smile as he saw her and walked over to her, placing a kiss on her lips. He had to reach up to do so, something she had found very strange in the beginning of their relationship. She had never even dated a guy shorter than her before. She had never found them attractive before Godric.

"I did not expect you so soon." He admitted. "We are almost finished."

"What is going on?" She asked, looking back and forth between him and the other vampires.

"I am looking for a new second. Marie and I do not share the same vision of the future." He said, mentioning Calum's old second.

"Why don't you give Cowboy a call? I'm fairly sure Isabel isn't keeping him on. They were acting like cats and dogs when you were gone. They didn't agree on anything." Her suggestion surprised him; she had never involved herself in vampire business before. Not intentionally. In fact she always made a point of staying out of it, something that had often given other vampires the impression that she was a quiet meek little human.

"You do not like Stan." He finally said, outwardly he didn't appear to notice the surprise his response was causing among the other vampires, but Kate knew that he was playing close attention and choosing his words carefully. He was showing that her opinion mattered, but why?

"Stan is a pig." She agreed. "I once asked Isabel to castrate him, she didn't take me seriously. But he would die for you, he is loyal, and you trust him. Besides, Stan is always passionate. Hell, he was even passionate about what I ate when you were gone. It almost made me think the old garlic legends were true. Sometimes you can be a little…. passive. He might help."

"He was gravely injured in the attack." Godric admitted. He had never mentioned that. But then, why should he? She had only inquired about Isabel and Eric.

"You said it takes a vampire a week to regrow his leg." She said, not quite sure what he was getting at. Surely it couldn't be bad enough to keep him weak for over a year.

"It depends on the age of the vampire, Stan is still fairly young. Only six centuries." She wondered when Godric began thinking of someone as old. Half a millennium was plenty old to her. She wondered how old Isabel was for Godric to recommend her as Sheriff. Then again, she knew vampire politics were different in the US and Europe. She just didn't know how or why.

"That would still make him older than most vampires here. Right? Duncan was just 800. And would Stan's injuries have healed by now?"

"Probably. Perhaps I should call Isabel and discuss the matter."

Kate smiled, though she couldn't believe she had just suggested bringing Stan to Edinburgh. She hoped he would never find out it was her idea. It wouldn't do to make him think she actually liked him in any way. She didn't, not really, he wouldn't hesitate to bite anyone. Her included, if it wasn't for Godric. This brought her thoughts back to her earlier concerns about Susan, and indivertibly to Jack.

"Godric." She said as he turned to move. He looked at her. "What about Jack?"

"Jack?" He asked confused.

"He is young right, what is happening to him now that Duncan is gone?"

"Yes, he is very young, less than a decade. I have contacted Calum's maker in Rome. She has offered to take over for her child."

"So he is going to be alright?"

"Juliana is old, nearly as old as I am. She will teach him everything he needs to know."

"Is she cruel?"

"I do not know her personally." Godric admitted. "I hear she is fairly withdrawn, rarely meddles in vampire politics. But the bond between sire and child is strong, it continues down the line. There is already a bond between Jack and Juliana. He will be fine."

"That bond didn't protect you or your maker." She said without thinking. He was not pleased; his mask was up.

"What would you have me do? Raise him myself?"

"He hates you. What about Eric?"

"No."

"Please, if it wasn't for Jack you would have killed me." She said, surprising herself with the statement. She had never thought of it before. In her mind he had simply vouched for her, but he had saved her life. "You would have killed me." She echoed the realisation.

"I would not."

"Then Stan would have." She said with a hint of hysteria, she had never considered how close she really had been to death in those first few days with Godric.

"I would not have allowed it. You are mine."

"Sure, you found me interesting but that's it. It would not have stopped you, especially not if you had bi-"

"Kathryn." He interrupted, placing his palms on each side of her face to keep it steady when he locked eyes with her. "You are never in danger with me. Nor would I have allowed anyone else to harm you, now or then. You were innocent."

"People are dead because of me." She countered; she wasn't an innocent anymore.

"Calum is dead because of his own foolishness. I will ensure that Jack is taken care of. Now breath." She did. "I will finish up here, then I will take you to dinner. You have not eaten." She blinked.

"How did you know that?"

"You sometimes become a little… emotional, when you are hungry." Godric offered and Kate had a sneaking suspicion that what he really wanted to say was something entirely different, but he had learned his lesson on a beach walk in Brazil when he had accused her of being hysterical.

That little accusation, no matter how accurate at the time, had led to a full out tirade where a 26-year-old-human-female stood yelling at a 2000-year-old-vampire for all she was worth, accusing him of being just as stupid, sexist, and idiotic as any other man in this godforsaken world where they think a woman is hysterical as soon as she shows a little emotion. She had gone as far as claiming they all just wanted a meek, timid, obedient little slave who would fall on their knees and blow them whenever and wherever they wanted. If a woman was intelligent and showed a hint of defiance she was accused of being hysterical and overly emotional. He had never said the word 'hysterical' in her presence again, and to think there are people claiming you can't teach an old dog new tricks.

"I am a little hungry." She admitted with a hint of self-satisfaction, she really shouldn't be proud of the feat. And she wasn't, she told herself. In fact she should be embarrassed at recollection, but she just couldn't muster the feeling at the moment. Instead she looked at him with puppy dog eyes, she knew he hated the smell but she just really felt like… "Jamie's Italian?"

TBC…


	13. A Vampire Boss

**Chapter THIRTEEN**

No more than a week after Kate's suggestion she found herself at the airport picking up Stan from his ANUBIS flight from Dallas. It had arrived shortly before sunset, so all she had to do was wait for him to rise, and then take him to Godric's house. Anubis would deliver his belongings later.

Normally Godric would have sent his day-guy, but Sebastian had all but begged her to go in his stead. Unlike Godric's guy in Dallas, Sebastian was Kate's age, two years younger even, and unlike Kate he had a date. He had also argued that she knew what Stan looked like, and, more importantly, he knew her. But it was the mention of a date that had sold her. As far as she knew he hadn't had one since he started working for Godric two months earlier. And she liked Sebastian, he was currently the only one in her life who didn't hate, or at least severely dislike, Godric. She also preferred it if Sebastian didn't become as obsessed with Godric as she had seen other day-guys become with 'their' vampires.

Her eyes landed on Stan as he approached her in the arrival hall with his cocky knowing grin, and she had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. She wondered if Godric had told him it had been her suggestion to bring him in, if so he would be insufferable.

"Well, well, well. Looks like someone had moved down the ranks. And here I thought you were still the Sheriff's personal blood bag."

"Aren't you sweet." She said mockingly. "I see you've finally been released from your grave. To think a pesky little human would make you hide underground for seven months. Just a little boy really, not even a man." When she finished she half expected Stan to attack her but instead he only stopped and took a deep breath.

"You smell as delicious as I remembered." He said, showing some fang. "If Godric ever grows tired of you…"

"Are you saying you'd eat the leftovers? Just like a wolf, letting your alpha eat until he is finished then take whatever is left." She said, wondering if pre-revelation pop culture had it right and werewolves and vampires really were mortal enemies. That is to say if there was such a thing as werewolves. From the growl she got in the response, she guessed she might have been right. She smiled sweetly.

"Now, are you ready to meet the alpha?" It was amazing how Stan had the ability to de-age her 10 years in less than 5 minutes. Even more amazing was the fact that she felt more at ease with Stan, someone who had clearly stated he wanted to drain her dry on multiple occasions, than with any of the Edinburgh vampires.

"He is too lenient with you, were you mine I would-"

"I never will be, so you really shouldn't fantasise. You will only be disappointed."

"Oh, you are quite talented and tasty in my fantasies. But somehow I still think you will prove to live up to them soon enough." He told her with a leer that made her shiver in disgust. She suddenly couldn't remember what on earth had made her suggest bringing the cowboy to Edinburgh. The thought made her notice something wrong, she just couldn't pinpoint what at first. Then.. her vampire cowboy was missing his hat. That was just wrong.

When Kate led Stan into the house and to Godric's library, Godric looked at the two with a curious expression.

"Kate, Stan."

"Sheriff." Stan greeted with a familiarity and respect she had seen none of the Edinburgh vampires show Godric since their arrival in the city. Oh, they showed fear, but not much else. She wondered what he'd done to earn that fear, she guessed he'd only touched on the surface when he confessed to her.

"It is good to have you here with us." Gordic smiled at his underling. "I hope you will not regret your decision to come home."

"Home?" Kate asked, not quite understanding the comment.

"Jacob, Stan's maker, was the King of Scotland's second before his death." Godric said when Stan remained silent. "The King took Jacob under his wing's at a young age after his own maker met the true death."

"Which King?" She asked automatically, trying to go through a mental list of Scottish kings.

"The Vampire King. He had ruled Scotland since the 1411."

"Of course." She said sarcastically. "Why didn't the foolish human guess we were taking about the vampire king?" She looked at Godric. "I am going to work, James still refuses to go on the ghost tours with Mary, and legally the tour can't go on without human 'supervision'."

"Should I have Sebastian look for a replacement?" He asked. It wasn't only the Sheriff title that had been given to Godric upon Calum's true death, according to vampire law he gained all his possessions as well. That included the company Kate worked for, though she preferred not to think about it. She had promised herself she wouldn't work for one of Godric's companies, now she reasoned she could stay on anyway, since she had been with the company since before Godric took it over.

"No!" She said appalled. James was the company in her opinion. It only had 10 employees, 4 full-time, and James had been there longest. "He liked Jack, just give him time. He did the walking tour today instead."

After Jack had left for Rome Godric had ordered Mary, the second youngest vampire in the city, to take over Jack's responsibilities and as far as Kate was concerned she was doing a good job. She, like Jack, she seemed to relish in the fear she could draw from the tour groups. But unlike Jack who claimed he used to hunt in the underground city Mary claimed to have been the George MacKenzie's, better known as the MacKenzie poltergeist, lover in his youth. She also claimed he had allowed her to feast on the blood of the 1200 covenanters he imprison on the field next to Greyfirars Kirkyard. Her story almost sounded believable, the fact that she would kiss her palm and place it on MacKenzie's tomb in the end of the tour was also a nice touch in Kate's opinion. Apparently Mary had been an actress in 1960's. It showed. She really was a good choice, and if James gave her a chance Kate thought he might actually like her too.

The afternoon after Stan's arrival all Kate could do was stare at her laptop with a huge grin plastered onto her face. She couldn't believe it, yes she had applied, but she had never expected this. She lacked the 3 necessary years of relevant work experience and still… In front her was a e-mail from DEE, or Democratic Education Efforts, it was a organisation that helped spread democratic values in post-war societies. She would probably never be let into China again if she was to succeed in her interview, but it would be worth it. She just couldn't tare her eyes away from the last line

_We apologise for the short notice, should you be unavailable tomorrow at 3 pm please contact us as soon as possible to reschedule. _

She couldn't believe it. She was not going to take any chances that they had sent the e-mail to the wrong person or got the CVs mixed up; she would be there at five to three, no matter what. And show they just how good of a fit for the job she was. And that meant finding a replacement for her afternoon tour of the royal mile and old town.

Normally she would have called James to cover for her but he was still angry with her, odds where he would just say something hurtful and still leave her hanging. Her best option was little Miss Suck Up, or Kate Two as they sometimes called her. Kate Two had worked part time for the company since a month before Kate left for her trip, and ever since Kate and James had had their falling out and Kate became the owner's 'girlfriend' Kate Two had spent most of her time sucking up to her. Kate wasn't really sure what she hoped it would accomplish, as far as she knew Kate Two hadn't even applied for a full-time position. Maybe she was a wanna-be-fangbanger? Kate didn't know, and she didn't care. All she cared about at the moment was that Kate Two would happily agree to do her this favour. More than happily actually.

As soon as she had made her arrangements Kate started doing a more thorough background check of the organisation, the duties that she would have if she was successful, the regions they were active in, and, perhaps more importantly than anything else, started trying to prepare for any, any, kind of questions they might ask during the interview.

Two days later Kate had no idea how things had went when she left the DEE office. She had thought she had done alright, but she really didn't know, and she wouldn't know for another week and a half. The only thing about the interview that had taken her by surprise had been their final interview question. They had asked her about her views on vampires. She had no idea what the DEE's standpoint was on vamps, as far as she knew they didn't have any. Vamps had never been mentioned in connection to the organisation, and she had no idea how they had taken her answer. No matter how much she liked what they did and wanted to be a part of it, if she had lied and they found out about Godric later everything would have gone to hell anyway. She neither could, nor would, hide Godric like a dirty secret. Neither would she have been able to silently listen if people said the same idiotic things as the fellowship sprouted in her work place. Hence she had gone with complete honesty. She just hoped that somewhere among the things she said were the things they wanted to hear.

Later that day she saw Godric walking into her company office for the first time. She stiffened. Aside from James none of the other employees had met their new Boss, and she couldn't help but wonder how they would treat him. Not surprisingly one of the old timers had walked up to him and politely informed him that if he wanted to book a tour he would have to do it online, by phone, or from one of numerous agencies and hotels around the city. Godric had only nodded, and politely explained he wasn't there for a tour. He was looking for Kate. Chris had seemed surprised but told him to wait while he got her, not aware she had been watching the whole time.

"Kate, there is a kid here to see you… says he knows you."

"I saw him." She said, cringing on the inside as he described her 2000-year-old-lover. "And that kid is your boss. That's Gordic."

"You are sleeping with him?" He asked before he could think, and Kate could only hope Godric would let it be. No doubt he was listening to everything they were saying. "Sorry." He apologised. "When James said you'd hocked up with a vampire I was thinking more Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt… not Justin Beaver."

"You know he can hear you." She pointed out, making him glance nervously in Godric's direction. "Never mind. I will go and see why he is here."

Walking up to him she felt more self-conscious than she had ever felt before. It felt as if the entire world was watching as she walked up and kissed 'the kid' hello.

"What brings you down here?" She asked when she moved back.

"One of my underlings contacted me. Apparently you have impressed her human. She has asked permission to met you in person and discuss one of her side projects with you, I thought I would escort you."

"What are you talking about?" She asked, as far as she knew she had never impressed a vamp's human. They tended to think she wasn't living up to the fangbanger life-style.

"Cynthia Bress."

"The head of DEE is a vampire?" Kate asked shocked.

"Yes."

"That is… surprising." She finally said, especially considering what she knew of vampire politics. It was hardly something one could consider democratic.

"If you are still interested, I will let her explain things."

"Now?"

"You do not have any tours tonight, correct?" Godric asked, glancing at the large whiteboard with the tours and assigned guides on the wall in other side of the room. No doubt he could read even the smallest letters perfectly from here he stood. He looked back at her. "Do you have any other plans?"

"No, not really." She said, still not sure what to think. "Just let me get my things."

**TBC…**

Sorry the update has taken a few days. I was out of town and haven't had much time to write. I'm afraid that even though I am back now the updates won't come daily anymore, but I will do my best to produce a few chapters per week.


	14. A Vampire Messenger

**Chapter FOURTEEN**

Kate was not surprised to learn that Godric was not taking her to the office she had been interviewed in earlier in the day. But she had to admit a mild surprise when he took her to a residential area by Portebello beach. It was a beautiful home, perhaps a century old, facing the sea. The view had to be amazing during the day, and completely wasted on a vampire who would never see the sunlit beach.

After they had knocked on the door it took only seconds before it opened, and on the other side Kate came face to face with Simon Thomas, the man who had interviewed her earlier in the day. He smiled when he saw her.

"Kate, good to see you again." He turned to Godric. "It's an honour to have you in our home Sheriff, if you would please come in I will take you both to Cynthia. She would have been here to greet you herself, but an urgent business call came just as you pulled up. I beg your forgiveness on her behalf." Godric merely nodded and allowed Simon to lead the way.

The inside of the house was modern, she had not been to many vampire homes, but she doubted many looked like this. The furniture looked set up looked like it came straight of a magazine for modern living. And in a room in the very back of the house Kate could hear a woman's voice ending a phone call, then she stepped though the closed door. The woman was a classic beauty; she also looked like she had come straight of fashion magazine from the 50's.

"Sheriff." She bowed her head in respect. "You honour me with your presence in my home." Kate would never get used to this. Godric only nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"I am only here to accompany Kate. She is the one you sought." Godric said, and Cynthia's eyes immediately went to the female human.

"I am Cynthia Bress, may I call you Kathryn?" She asked. Kate nodded. "Simon told me you were a very interesting candidate. You impressed him today. But when I found out who you were, I thought you sounded more suitable, ideal in fact, for another project I am working on." She stopped obviously waiting for Kate to ask what. She did. "I have gained both the King's and the Sheriff's permission to hold grassroots elections in the vampire community here in the Edinburgh area."

"You are trying to democratise the vampire community?" Kate asked, her eyes going back and forth between the two vampires. That would never happen.

"Nothing so grand." Cynthia smiled. She looked so human. For the first time in a long time Kate could understand how vampires had gone undetected for so long. "At least not for a long time. No, but with the new Sheriff's support I have gotten the King's blessing for us to elect our own investigators. I see it as a first step, with time it might lead to more."

"Interrogators?" Kate asked. "Like detectives?"

"Yes." Cynthia agreed. "In the past the Sheriff has always appointed 5 investigators in each area to investigate the more important complaints he hears from his… people."

"You want the vamps to elect their own police officers?" Kate asked sceptically. It sounded… idiotic for lack of a better term. "Wouldn't they simply vote for their own allies, or vamps they know they can bribe?"

"Same could be said for human elections." Cynthia pointed out.

"The human voter pool is much larger. If the voter pool is too small, where the voters feel they have the power to personally influence the candidates, the risk for bribes and corruption is too big for a democratic system to work properly. Especially in a hieratical system like the vampire system."

"And you do not think many of the past Sheriff's have used their power to choose only investigators that will show proof that will aid their personal goals? An election would limit such actions."

"Of course, but if the Sheriff in an area is that kind of vampire, he is not likely to allow elections either."

"No, but by proving they work elsewhere I hope to inspire the King to enforce such elections in his different areas. That is not to say your concerns are not valid. The voter pool is limited, as are the possible candidates. These elections would have to be carefully planned and monitored, that is where you come in."

"Me?" She asked in disbelief. "What do I have to do with this?"

"You are the Sheriff's human, after what he did to Calum for your sake none would dare to harm you or put you at risk. It would be their lives." Godric didn't refute the claim. "Your involvement in this carry almost the same wait as the Sheriff's, but without his direct involvement, which would have put the results in question."

"So basically you want me because of Godric." Kate summarised disappointed, and Cynthia could not phantom what she had said wrong. Luckily the other vampire did.

"You earned a job at the organisation on your own merits. You are simply placed on this project because of your knowledge and connections in the vampire world" Godric assured her. "Without contacts one does not easily gain access, but after you have this access it is up to you to impress, and you have. Cynthia would not have offered you this job unless she thought you were capable, a human pet without a mind of his own would not have been offered such an opportunity." Finally Cynthia seemed to catch on.

"Of course not." She agreed. "Simon even took to contact your references before you were even brought to my attention. And he did not know of your connection to the Sheriff, he merely thought you suitable, especially considering your view in vampires. He said they were unusually realistic and competent."

By the time they left Cynthia's home Kate's feelings were mixed. She had a new job, minus the vampire aspect it would have been her dream job actually, but she wasn't sure she deserved it, or if she was merely being used as a puppet to involve Godric. Godric however did not seem to think so, if he had he wouldn't even have brought her to Cynthia. But still the fear that that was the case seemed to feaster within her and stayed with her until Godric took her to his bedroom, after which her capability of genuine thought and worry, were made severely limited.

The next evening Godric had insisted on taking her on a celebratory dinner, while the dinner had been amazing things had not ended as she had thought they would when they reached Godric's house. The vampire's previously relaxed posture tensed, and without a second thought he had taken a protective step in front of her before he led them through the door.

"What is going on?" Kate asked, not sure what to make of Godric's behaviour.

"There is an unknown vampire here. I can smell him." The words had no more left his lips before Kate could actually hear the vampire. And he was laughing, the sound came from the living room. The fact that Stan's amused voice came drifting after didn't make Kate ease, though it made Godric's stance ease ever so slightly.

"Sheriff." Stan said as he moved to greet them, the unknown vampire close behind. He was tall, taller than Kate at least, with a muscular build, and a red hair and freckles that to Kate screamed of Ireland. The pale skin she had to write off as a vampire trait, though she couldn't bet money on the fact that it had looked much different when he had been human. "This is Liam, he is the King's messenger. He arrived shortly after you left this evening."

"You seem to know him." Godric said with a cool calm that spoke of his anger. He did not like unknown vampires in his home.

"I do, he is my brother." Then for Kate's benefit he added. "We share the same sire." Kate supposed that most likely made him older than Stan considering the circumstances that had landed him with the King in the first place.

"What does the King wish of me?" Godric asked, his tone not changing in the slightest. Stan looked uncomfortable, probably trying to guess his punishment. Well, Kate would at least ensure that no body parts were thorn off, not that she really expect Godric to use the same punishments Calum had been so fond of. But then she had never seen Godric punish anyone.

"Forgive the intrusion." Liam said with a heavy lilt, though there was not a hint of the Irish Kate had expected, it was pure Scottish. "The king is celebrating 600 years in the throne, he wishes to invite your household to the celebration. Your second, and your human." Kate wanted to bristle, she didn't like being labelled as his human. It sounded like she was beneath him, like she was food. Not that she didn't refer to Godric as her vampire, she supposed she was a bit of a hypocrite, but that didn't change how she felt.

Godric did not seemed appeased by the explanation, if his silence was anything to go by, and Liam seemed to notice. "Normally you would have received an invitation by mail, but when the King mentioned it I offered to come with it personally due to your age and new status, as well as the presence of my brother. I have not seen him since he left for the new world, I apologise if my presence has upset you." Finally Godric relaxed. But something told Kate it was an act.

"You are of course welcome as kin of my second, and as the King's honoured messenger. Your message has been received, but you will have to excuse me, Kate and I have other matters to see to." For the first time Liam's glance landed on Kate. His glance was far too much like Stan's original once-over of her and she felt dirty.

"With such a tasty human I can not do anything but understand your hunger." Godric growled loudly and bared his fangs at the shocked messenger. He probably thought he had been polite, complementing his choice of pet. To him it was the same as if commenting on a particularly fine looking a stake was.

"She is mine! In this nest she is your better, child!"

"He meant no offence." Stan stepped in for his still stunned brother, though he had taken to look away submissively from both Kate and Godric. "He was merely commenting on Kate's beauty." The last word sounded almost sour and Kate almost laughed. Godric did not. "The King does not hold his humans in the same esteem you do, Sheriff. He will not make the same mistake again."

"Forgive me."

When they reached Gordic's bedroom, the good mood that had surrounded them since they left the restaurant had dissolved, leaving a tense and non too pleasant vampire in its stead.

"You are to keep your distance from Liam." Godric ordered, making Kate want to protest just on principle but something about his mood made her lips stay closed. She very much suspected he would lock her into the room if she had said anything anyway. "Liam is the King's procurer. I don't know what could have brought him here except you."

"Me?" She asked, giving him a look that clearly stated she thought he was being ridiculous. "He is here for the cowboy, he barely even looked at me."

"Nor would he in my presence." He said angrily, then softer added "Perhaps you are correct, but I want you to be very careful. It will not be odd if you ignore him, as my human it is almost expected."

"I will, but you are overacting. As far as anyone knows I am like any other human. I just can't be glamoured, and only Stan, Eric, and Isabelle knows that."

"You forget William and Miss Stackhouse. William is loyal to his Queen, he may have told her and she has no great affection for me."

"Really, I'm nothing special. Liam will see that, if that is even why he is here, and report it to the King."

"That still leaves the matter of the King's celebration. You will have to attend."

"When is it?"

"It should still be a few months into the future. I do not remember the exact date. But you will have to act as a proper pet to avoid suspision." Kate didn't say anything, but she had absolutely no intention of listening to that idiocy. She wouldn't be able to even if she wanted to.

**TBC…**


	15. A Vampire-friendly Cottage

**Chapter FIFTEEN**

Kate's first few weeks working for Cynthia had led to more than a few awkward encounters, not with the vampire employees but with the human ones. Encounters that had begun to make Kate feel like a bigot. She always thought herself to be fair when it came to the vampires, and she was, her problem was with the humans who willingly associated with them, who let vampires feed from them, people like her.

Most of the humans working on Cynthia's vampire election project either were or had been involved with vampires in different ways, they were also all glamoured to forget everything about vampire politics when they were out of the office, the only ones that were not were Kate, Simon, and Simon's younger brother, Charlie. Which meant a lot of field work for the three of them.

While Simon didn't get offended by the many misconceptions Kate had, Charlie did. The first time Kate had met Charlie she had thought he had looked so much like his brother that she had assumed she was Simon's vampire-blood-drinking-twin, foolishly enough she had unintentionally hinted on her belief, Charlie had thought her an idiot ever since. Though for some reason Simon seemed to think they worked well together anyway, and constantly made them work on the same sub-projects and in close proximity to each other. That was how she had learned how Charlie really had ended up where he was.

Before the vampires had 'come out' Cynthia had taken a night class at the university, which was how she had met a young Simon. They had fallen in love, and when Simon and Charlie's parents passed away in a car accident she had given Simon his job so he could provide for his teenage brother. She had later paid for Charlie's university education under a contractual promise that he would work for her a minimum of five years after his education, or pay her back for the school fees. In short: it was obvious why Cynthia trusted them as much she did, they both owed her. Simon seemed to genuinely love the woman, who now looked a good 15 years younger than him, and Charlie felt an unwanted, but genuine, affection and gratitude towards her. But it was also clear that if Charlie had a choice, he would not be working on anything vampire related. That was perhaps Charlie's and Kate's only common sentiment, they seemed to clash on everything else and she couldn't understand why Simon kept putting them together.

"Your master is here." Charlie told Kate as looked up from their table, his eyes above her right shoulders.

"He is not my master." Because of her original view of vampire-human relationships, aside from her own of course, Charlie had taken to always call Godric her master. "That would make me his servant."

"Isn't that all us lowly humans can be to our betters?" He asked mockingly.

"I never said anything like that!"

"Might as well considering how you look down on us." He seemed to take an unnerving amount of pleasure in annoying her. In response she only glared into his smirking eyes, at least until Godric came up and placed a kiss on top of her head.

Any show of affection between the two of them always had the same affect on Charlie, he looked away. He did the same when Cynthia and Simon did anything similar. She didn't know why, and in truth she was a little curious.

Kate smiled up at the standing vampire. "What are you doing here? I said I would meet you at home."

"I had business with Cynthia, and thought I would take you out for a late dinner."

"Late?" She said surprised. He smiled that cute little half-smile that she was sure would make any woman weak in the knees.

"It is almost midnight."

"Midnight?!" She nearly yelled standing up.

"You let time run away from you again. I have always loved your passion."

"Godric, when someone is 3 hours late for a date, and you have to show up to get them, you are not suppose to complement them." She told him, looking embarrassed. "I'm sorry."

"All I have is time. You are worth the wait." He said, and inwardly she flinched. Was he trying to pressure her to take his blood again? Did he really want her to ask him to make her a vampire? Was that why… no, surely he wouldn't… but he would. She would never had thought so when in Dallas, but during their time together since she had seen his devious and manipulating side far too often when he dealt with other vampires.

"Just let me put my stuff away, I will be back in a sec."

When she retuned Charlie was staring at Godric with obvious dislike, if not hostility, and Kate wondered what was going on. But she pushed any such concern away, and smiled at her vampire. "I'm ready."

The dinner was quick, and followed by the night performance the Russian ballet had decided to put on. They were only in town for a week before they were heading down to London, where they would stay for two months. The tickets had been sold out for months, both in Edinburgh and London, but Kate couldn't say Godric's ability to get a hold of two tickets and a private box surprised her. They were hardly the only vampires there, and Godric greeted a Russian vampire that had come from backstage quite warmly. She suspected that vampire had had something to do with their tickets, but she kept the thought to herself. The performance had been absolutely amazing. And she didn't know how to top it.

She and Godric had a date every Friday night, taking turns on organising it, and usually she would know what to do weeks in advance. She took it as a personal challenge to show him something new every time, but since starting her job she didn't have nearly as much free time and she had no idea what to do. She would have to think of something. Perhaps they could do a weekend in London? Godric hadn't been there since WWII; sure the city had much history, but there were plenty of new things too. Or maybe she could take him to a nice B&B in the high lands… but she highly doubted they would have vampire friendly windows, and while Godric had once told her he didn't mind spending the day in the dirt, she had no intention of letting him. Not with her around.

It seemed like she spent all her spare-time the next few days looking for the ideal date, but instead she found the ideal house, or rather cottage. The cottage was built in the early 1850s on a cliff by the sea, it was beautiful and something she had always dreamed of, but never thought she'd have. After a quick scouting mission, she knew she had been right. It was ideal. It was meant to be hers. She could stay with Godric during the week, and then they could spend the weekends in her cottage. It would need to be renovated anyway; she could make it vamp-safe. The only problem was funding, which in turn led to the inevitable phone call to her grandmother.

The reply was quick and simple. If she wanted a loan for the cottage, she would have to make an appearance at her grandmother's Masquerade ball in London the following weekend. seemed she had gotten the date and money problem solved. In one go. Kate just had to make sure to get the money before she showed up with a vampire.

Her grandmother might have been one of the first to welcome Henry VIII's bastard son, turned vampire, back into the London aristocracy when he made himself known. But she had most likely only done so to prove that she could. Still, it would make things interesting. She couldn't really protest on the basis that Godric was a vampire, and he was certainly wealthy enough to earn her approval. The dead thing, however, might be a slight problem.

Two days later the money was in her account, and without telling a single soul except the realtor and her grandmother, Kate became a home owner.

Godric must have noticed that something was going on, after all, she had been on the phone almost constantly looking for good restorators, and handymen. But he hadn't said anything. Maybe he thought it had something to do with work, maybe he had found out already and was waiting for her to tell him herself, or maybe he was simply waiting for her to be ready to share the news. She didn't know, and at the time being she didn't care. She would tell him in time.

She had however told Susan she was moving out, she hadn't questioned it. In fact she seemed relieved. It seemed Kate had been right; she had been working up her courage to tell her to leave. The only thing Susan had made sure was that one; Kate wasn't moving in with the vampire, and two; she had somewhere else to go. She supposed that in her own way Susan still cared, even if it had always been James Kate was close with. Susan had always been more of an acquaintance, then a semi-friendly flatmate. The next day Susan put an ad on gumtree, and ever since it felt like her phone was buzzing with texts from people asking for a viewing.

But something was wrong. On Thursday evening when Kate returned to Godric's flat Godric met her by the door. That was not a common occurrence.

"Something wrong?" She asked, while removing her jacket and shoes.

"Apparently your grandmother called your flat asking for you, Susan said she did not know your new address and you weren't answering your phone. So she called here, apparently it was important." He was calm, too calm.

"Oh." Was all Kate could think to say.

"Yes, 'Oh'." Godric agreed, giving her a blank stare.

"I can explain. I bought a house, a cottage really. It was going to be a surprise."

"Consider me surprised." He told her blandly. She shifted uncomfortably; this was not how she planned to tell him.

"I sort of bought it for us." She said, looking at him for some kind of reaction. She found none. "Look, I will explain. But can we not do this in the doorway?" He nodded, but did not say a word as he led them to the library. Even in there he only looked at her expectantly. She sighed.

"Okay, so I was looking for something we could do on Friday night, when I came across this advert for the most beautiful little cottage I have ever seen. It's located less than an hour from Edinburgh, on top of a cliff overlooking the sea, and it was for sale. I bought it. I won't have time to travel back and forth everyday, but I figured we could make it into our weekend home, and I could live here during the week. Then we could spend the weekend at my place." Still he said nothing. "I thought you would be happy."

"You will move in with me?" He asked, his face blank as he awaited her reply. He was starting to annoy her. They were not married, she could do whatever she wanted, she didn't need his permission. Besides wasn't he the one who wanted them to live together... Not that the would be. Not really.

"No, we will have a normal relationship where we spend time at your place, and time at mine. Just a little more scheduled than most. Before we couldn't spend the day at my place because of your… sun allergy. Now we won't have that problem, I will make it vampire safe. I will even ad one of those hidy-holes I heard about." She had not actually considered doing that until that very movement, but it sounded like a good idea. She had read about them in a magazine, vampires that couldn't afford to have sun-proof homes would get them, and she would add one just to be on the safe side. However she was brought out of her musing by a sudden brilliant smile on Godric's face. She blinked.

"Why are you suddenly so happy?" She accused.

"That seem like a long-term plan." He said, still smiling. "You plan for there to be an us. Long-term." She hadn't thought of it like that, perhaps she had accepted a future with the vampire after all. Just maybe. Still, she couldn't help but smile as well.

"But this all came with a prize." She told him.

"Anything." He agreed without hesitation.

"You might regret that." She warned, but she couldn't loose her smile as she said it. His was infectious. "For grandmother to give me the loan I needed to promise to go to her ball this weekend. And you are coming with me."

**TBC…**


	16. A Vampire at the TATE Modern

**Chapter SIXTEEN**

No more than two hours after sunset, on Friday evening, Kate stepped of the plane at Heathrow Airport. Normally she would have taken the train; she quite enjoyed the tranquil and beautiful landscape between the two capitals. But when travelling with a vampire, she had learned long ago that unless he was willing to travel in a coffin, the fastest route tended to be the preferred one. Besides, it was only 6.30, the night was still young, and while they might have a ball to attend the next evening, this was their time in the royal capital.

When she had been travelling around the world with her vampire she had often expected Godric's jaw to drop in surprise when he revisited a place he hadn't been to in decades, some times centuries, but so far it had never happened. He had told her change didn't surprise him anymore, things changed so much, so often, that he had come to expect it. The most he would offer was a curious look around, and Heathrow wasn't any different despite how much it must have changed since the 1940's.

"It is bigger than I remember." He said with an amused smile when he saw her curious expression as he too stepped of the plane.

"What was it like when you last were here?" Curiosity always got the best of her and, as it always did when that happened, it brought a smile of genuine warmth and love to her Vampire's lips as the amusement leaked from Godric's eyes.

" It was war-time. I had just left Eric on the continent to follow a different lead…" he Began his tale and Kate listened carefully to each and every word that left his lips.

One of the perks of travelling with vampire, since vampires tended to make some humans uncomfortable, was that many of the bigger airports had them and their companions fast tracked. Heathrow was no different; within 15 minutes Kate and Godric to passed through security, and got their luggage. It was amazing really. She had never come on a regular flight, a non-Anubis flight, with Godric to an airport she was familiar with before and had never really appreciated the speed before. Well, not as much as it deserved at least. They were in at their London hotel within an hour after that.

Stepping onto the rainy streets of London Kate braved a smile as Godric threw a concerned eye on the sky, still standing in the hotel doorway. "Perhaps we should take a taxi?" He offered.

"The vampire is afraid of a little rain?" She teased. Throwing her head back, enjoying the light drizzle on her face. "If only the bigots knew!"

"You might become ill." He reminded her, ignoring her other comment. To say he had not dealt with the cold she had caught running in and out of the overly air-conditioned hotels, bars, and museums in Malaysia, would be putting it mildly. He had more or less been convinced she would draw her last breath at any second, constantly trying to convince her to have some of his blood again.

"No one had died form a little cold in centuries. No one is going to cut my wrist open and bleed me. Besides, I am British. If I couldn't handle a little rain I would have been dead before I was even born. Come on. This is nice, and it won't last long… it will stop before you know it."

Her prediction it seemed had been a little too optimistic and not long after they had reached the Thames walk it started to pour. She could have sworn she saw a brief flash of the 'I-told-you-so' look on Godric's face when it started. But it was gone before she could be sure. Oddly enough the rain had started to pour almost the second they had entered a roof-covered area. Leaving them both fairly dry.

"Guess we'll have to run." Kate said, smiling brightly, as if to prove that the rain really didn't bother her. She would brave it without hesitation, as any true Brit would. Almost immediately he reached for her, and she backed away and added. "Human style. Tate is not far. You don't need to carry me. Besides you don't know where it is." With that she dashed out from their cover, her bag over her head in a doomed attempt to keep her hair dry. It didn't matter, she simply ran, allowing Godric to give chase, smiling as she did so. This was all ridiculously corny, something out of a movie, but she couldn't help but enjoy it. It felt normal.

By the time they reached the art museum Kate had long since given up on keeping her hair dry, she was soaked to the bone, and she was laughing. It had been years since she had been in a situation even remotely like it. Well, in all honesty only the rain and soaked cloths were the same.

She had been in Rome with one of her friends. It had been summer and both their shirts had been white. That night had turned into something of joke between the two of them later. She had never been bought as many drinks as she was that night, and the guy she had picked in the end had been one of the best ones she had ever had. He had been tall, a decade older than her, dark hair and even darker eyes with tanned olive skin. He and Godric couldn't have been more different. But any such thoughts were wiped clean as she glanced over at Godric's drenched form. She had to stop herself from salivating at the sight. His white shirt was clinging to his well-shaped body, much as hers had been and, if she had looked even remotely as tempting as he did at that moment, she could finally understand why so many strangers had been buying her drinks that night.

When her eyes finally reached Godric's face, after a thorough inspection, his eyes were glittering with amusement. Kate blushed; he could probably smell her arousal. As if her wandering eyes hadn't been obvious enough. She would do what she always did in situations like this; change the subject. But suddenly the naughty side of her brain told her to do something else. One more look wouldn't hurt. He looked so delectable.

Biting her lower lips she locked eyes with him briefly before she allowed them to once again roam over his body. How she had been able to resist him for as long as she had, especially with the dreams his blood had been giving her, was a mystery to her now. The act drew a soft growl from Godric, which took her by surprise, Godric did not growl. But he had, and within a flash he had her against the wall and his lips on hers. She couldn't claim she minded.

By the time they left Tate the heavens had cleared up and they could see the black night sky and the glowing moon. Though the stars were lost among the city lights, the closest was probably the occasional blinking airplane that passed over the city, it still brought a smile to Kate's lips.

"I told you it wouldn't last long." She said, grinning at her vampire.

"Of course, you were right as always." He said, and she could have sworn there was a hint of sarcasm in his bland tone. It made her grin widen, before she took his hand in his and began to lead them to Millennium bridge. When they reached the top, and saw the artificially lit-up cathedral, she looked over at Godric expectantly.

"Bet you didn't expect to see St Paul's cathedral quite like this when you first saw it."

"No." He admitted easily, but said nothing more.

"Well? Isn't it gorgeous?" Kate prompted. When she lived in London she had often come here to think at night. It may be a little crowded during the day, but she still loved it.

"It is... different." Seeing her disappointment he added. "Vampire eyes are very different from human eyes. I would have been able to see the cathedral perfectly on a moonless night, even if there was not a single light on in the city. I miss the candle light flicker."

"How could you possibly enjoy Tokyo with all the neon lights, but not this?"

"I didn't say I didn't like it." He told her, but his eyes were sad as he looked at the church. She read guilt there too. It told her that something had happened there. Perhaps someone he knew had met his or her end in or outside the cathedral, perhaps he had been the cause. She shook the thought away; she didn't like thinking of him as a predator. She knew he was one, she had seen it on occasion, but that wasn't who he was to her.

"Come on, there is a shopping centre behind the church. I need to get some dry cloths, or I will be spending the next few weeks in bed."

Any other male would have made some lewd comment, from Godric she wouldn't have minded a suggestive one, but he merely nodded, looking concerned. Some times she really wished he had never seen her sick. She wanted his suddenly sober mood to disappear. Maybe she should keep him away from the old buildings the best she could? He had had similar reactions to some of the other places they had visited, and usually, from what she'd been able to gather, they were connected to a massacre or a particularly gruesome murder he had been involved in.

When his mood remained even an hour after leaving the church behind Kate was becoming concerned. "Do you want to tell me what happened?" She finally asked, she really didn't want to know. But she had noticed that it sometimes helped him to confess his past sins to her. The first time had been a shock to both of them. To her because of what he had done. To him because she had been able to get it out of him, at least at first. Then because instead of screaming or running form him, she had done something extraordinary; with an analytical approach she had talked to him about it, asked the why and how. Then finishing with the most important question of all; asking if he would have acted the same way now.

"She was a chambermaid." He finally said, not looking at her. "She was sweet and innocent. She fancied herself in love with me. We used her to spy on a vampire and his human, her mistresses. She was pretty, I did not mind playing with her. But when she was no longer of use to us I drank her dry. She did not back away or scream when I showed her my true face. She simply looked at me and smiled sadly. She said she knew I was different, but that it did not matter. She already loved me. Eric laughed and I sank my teeth into her neck. Her last word was to used to ask me why I had done it. I never gave her an answer."

A part of Kate wanted to back away from him, but she knew that she couldn't. She didn't even want to know what would happen if she did. Instead she looked at him. "Do you remember her name?"

"Mary." He said without missing a beat. "She was a catholic, and a Scott. She said she had been named after the last real queen." Kate nodded.

"What did you do with her body?"

"I slit her throat when I was done and took her locket, it was the only thing she owned of any real value, and left her for the police. They would just write her of as a mugging victim."

"Then she was buried properly. She is at peace." She said. Godric gave her a sad smile.

"You do not believe in God."

"I don't even know if I believe in a soul." She admitted. "But I do believe in peace after death and that one should respect the dead and treat their bodies with respect. By leaving her instead of throwing her into the Thames you gave her something most human killers wouldn't. A dignified death and burial."

"You are an odd one." He told her. She didn't comment. Not on that at least.

"Godric, you are what you are. There is no shame in that. You were not given a choice in the matter. Nor were you raised properly as a vampire, you did not have a good teacher. You could only do what you had witnessed, and rely on your predatory instincts. But with time you learned, you became a better man. You are not the same man who killed Mary. You are mine now, and as long as you are mine I will not have you dwelling on other men or women." She finished with a small, slightly teasing, smile. "You are only to think of me, especially when I am faced with my grandmother's horrid ball. No doubt she will have a long line of suitable men for to meet, even though she knows I am bringing someone. Tonight we are going to have fun, not dwell on the past or the future."

**TBC…**


	17. A Vampire in the Bed

**Chapter SEVENTEEN**

Kate could barely keep her eyes open as she pulled on her jeans and shirt the next day. She had gotten less the five hours sleep before she had to make her way to her grandmother's manor. She had told her to be there by 2 pm, not a second later. Apparently some final fittings for her dress were needed, in her grandmother's opinion Kate should have gotten herself down to London a few days before the ball, that way they didn't have to worry that the seamstress was going to screw up the final (and in Kate's case, only) fitting. She supposed it was a good thing Godric had a suit already or her grandmother would never let him into the ball. Not that she had doubted that he would have one, she had only feared that it wasn't 10 or 20 years old. When one's body doesn't change she supposed one could have the same cloths for a very long time. He had however assured her that it wasn't. But when he had asked if it was a masquerade for a second time she had become a little nervous about what he was going to show up in. It was a black and white Masquerade where her grandmother would be providing all the masks. All Godric would have to do was show up in a suit.

Kate leaned over to kiss Godric's cold lips before quietly telling him she was leaving and that she would see him after sunset. She knew it was unnecessary and that he wouldn't have a clue she was doing it. But it was a pattern she had fallen into during their travels together, and one she had no intention of giving up. It made Godric seem more human she supposed, like he was sleeping and not dead. The fact that she was sleeping next to a dead body was something any girl would prefer to ignore, no matter what it looked like or if it would be animated again come sunset or not. After that she left, closing the door behind her.

Her grandparents' manor looked just as she remembered it, not that more than 2 years had passed since she lasted been there. She supposed it was expected. It was large, old, and beautiful. It was also intimidating, impersonal, and elegant.

When the driver pulled up in front of the house Kate was surprised to see her grandmother waiting for her in the doorway. Normally that would be the butler's job. But now that she thought about it her grandmother's old butler had passed away the year before. But surely her grandmother would have replaced him by now. She sighed. Her grandmother was still beautiful, she was elegant and dignified, and wore her age well with no surgical alterations. She was a firm believer that one should age gracefully or not at all. The later had been added after she had made the acquaintance of Henry Fitzroy, former duke of Richmond and Somerset, son of King Henry VIII.

"Darling." Her grandmother greeted, as she moved towards her. Her smile was small but warm. She was genuinely pleased to see her, as she always was. Regardless as to who Kate's father was her grandmother had always loved her. She simply wanted her to be someone she wasn't and didn't want to be; a proper member of the aristocracy, dating and marrying another proper member of the aristocracy.

"Grandmother." Kate smiled, and before she could think better of it she engulfed her grandmother in hug. She really had missed her, despite everything. "It's good to see you again."

"You should have come to see me after your trip." She responded, though her arms crept around Kate as well, before she gently pushed her back and looked her over. "You are so pale." She said. "I thought at least some of the tan would remain."

"Since Henry Fitzroy made his way back to court I thought fair skin would be in fashion." Kate jested. Her grandmother did not approve.

"Don't act stupid. It does not become you, perhaps we should get you a spray before tonight's event." She said thoughtfully.

"No." The response was immediate, but with Godric senses she had no intention of spraying herself in smelly chemicals that smelt bad even to a human at first. For his sake she tried to avoid unnecessary chemicals.

"No?"

"There is something I should probably tell you about my date for the evening." Kate admitted.

"And this affects your decision not to put some colour on you?" She asked, making it clear she preferred to forget about Kate's date, proving that Kate's earlier suspicions probably were well founded. She sighed. She would just come out and say it.

"He is a vampire."

"You are together with a vampire?" She asked, concerned. "Darling, what on earth made to agree to such a commitment? Vampires are fine, they know much and can tell us many interesting things about history. But they can be dangerous creatures when they want to be. You should not get too close. Keep a polite and proper distance. That is for the best."

"Godric is not like that."

"Godric?" Her grandmother repeated. "That is a curious name, very old. How old is he?"

"Old." Kate dismissed. "I don't want to talk about him. I just thought you should know, and I wanted to let you know I try to avoid things with a strong chemical scents, like spray tans."

"Fine. We will talk more about him later. But first we need make sure you will be ready for tonight, a little more tan would have set of the dress better. But we will manage."

The gown her grandmother had prepared had an Alice in Wonderland feel to it, though Kate could not say why or how, but it was gorgeous. It had thick black and white stripes, no sleeves, and was far more modern than anything she would expect her grandmother to have picked out. It was clean and stylish in its simplicity. It almost looked like something she would have picked out herself for some of the vampire functions she had attended. She blinked. And looked at her smiling grandmother.

"I take it you like it?"

"It's not very you." Was all she could think to say. She had expected a long white gown that looked more like a wedding down than anything else with black embroideries every here and there. It would have been beautiful, but princess like. This one was not.

"But it is you. Is it not?" She smiled knowingly.

"Thank you." Her grandmother nodded then looked a little thoughtful.

"I think we will need to make the waist a little smaller, I was told many gain a few pounds when they travel but you seem to have done the opposite." She sounded pleased. "But I suppose we will have to change the silver necklace I ordered made for the occasion, considering your choice of… date. I am sure we will be able to find something suitable, I believe your great grandmother might have something that would suit. She refused to wear anything but gold, and despite the…circumstances… of their marriage your Thomas father showered her in gifts. They had a very odd relationship I must say… They truly loved each other yet they never had any children…"

"No children?" Kate asked. "What? Your husband wasn't real?"

"Legitimate, I mean." She amended. "No doubt your mother told you the story, she always romanticised it. As did her father, despite his love for the man who raised him."

"Yet you married him. The illegitimate son." Kate said, she always wondered why. Her grandmother was always concerned with appearances and standing, yet she had married a man who was the result of a summer romance in Greece.

Although all records claimed Thomas had been the child of Jonathan Rowe, Lady Elizabeth's husband, everyone knew something about it wasn't right. Kate's grandfather had looked nothing like his mother or her husband. While both Elizabeth and Jonathan had been fairly short and dark in their colouring, Thomas had been tall, blond, and the build of a Greek statue. Perhaps that was what had made her proper grandmother bend her principles, if only this once. But she didn't think so, her grandmother always softened when she thought of her late husband. She had loved him a great deal. Kate knew that much, and her mother had told her the same. Despite everything that had happened between Kate's mother and grandmother, her mum never had a bad word to say about her mother. She was always understanding of her choices and didn't recent her for any of them. She even seemed grateful at times.

"I did." She said softly. "He was kind, charming, and talented. You should have heard him play his violin. He would have made Apollo himself weep. When I first met him I was determined to dislike him, if only for the circumstances of his birth, but within minutes I was putty in his hands. If he had wanted to he could no doubt had charmed his way to the throne or top of parliament. I never understood his lack of drive; all he cared about was his music, books, and sun. If he had lived longer I have no doubt he would have been able to convince me to move to France or even Australia. I was half-way there when he passed. There was just something about him." She shook her head out of the memory. "But his disinterest in the family fortune and power allowed me the freedom to do what was needed. I am proud to say that I have managed to more than double our assets in my lifetime. Judging from your grades you follow more in my footsteps than his." She gave her a serious look. "You are a brilliant girl, just like your mother. You may be with your vampire now, but you have duties to your family, to our line. Your mother never accepted that."

"Mum-" Kate began to defend, but cut herself off. She didn't want to fight. "Let's not talk about mum. She may understand, but I still don't. You cut her off financially and removed her from the succession line, yet named her child your heir… I just don't get it and I never will."

"She was never interested in the things I took away from her. I think she was relieved when I did so, as long as she has her books, myths, and legends she…. I blame your grandfather, he was always telling her tales from the ancient world as a child. They were both so fascinated; in some ways I was always an outsider. They were both dreamers, I am a realist." She looked at Kate. "So are you, studying politics and the way the world works, not getting lost in old stories and dreams."

Kate wasn't so sure about that, she loved those stories too. But she had other interests too, her mother really didn't. One could ask her about anything that happened in Greece or Rome 2000 years ago and she would know the answer, but of you asked her whom the current prime minster was she would blush and say she had no interest in politics. No doubt she would love to meet Godric. Kate wondered what her grandmother would say when or if she found out her lover was a (occasionally) living, breathing, relic from the very times her mother and grandfather had been obsessed with.

"I may not be a dreamer in the sense mum is, but I am not like you." She said, not unkindly. "I want to make a change, I am working for a charitable organisation. I have no interest in running companies."

"You can always hire someone." She dismissed. "As long as you have a sharp mind and keep an eye on the person you hire... Your mother would have let whoever she hired run things however he wanted, she wouldn't have the inclination to check up on him or the company. You would." She wasn't wrong.

"Maybe. But I won't marry someone just because he had the right background. Your money doesn't mean enough to me to do that. Not even your happiness does." She said firmly.

"And I would never ask it of you. I want you to love, respect, and trust your future husband. As I did, and your mother does." She said, seeming genuinely confused.

"Then why did you disinherit mum after she married dad?!" Kate asked in disbelief. This conversation was getting strange…

"Because she had someone else who would take care of her, I was setting her free. Did you not think I love your mother? My daughter?" Her grandmother asked disbelievingly. "I want what is best for her. Just as I wanted what was best for her father, and as I want the very best for you. You are my family, and that is more important than anything else. Your grandfather taught me that." She looked upset, and Kate didn't know what to say. She had always assumed… it had made sense that her kind, but strict and proper grandmother would do such a thing.

"Then what about all the guys you always try to introduce me to?" Kate asked, still confused. "I thought you were trying to ensure…" She trailed of and her grandmother shook her head a little amused. Though the hurt was still there in her eyes.

"You are not a social butterfly. You are pretty, but you do not go out much. I thought you would bloom when you started university, but… I am not calling you socially inept, I am merely saying that you show little interest in finding love. I hoped I would be able to perhaps spark something. I only introduced you to the very best, handsome, bright, charming, kind..." Kate gave a defeated laugh. "Still you always seemed to recent me for it. I suppose it makes more sense now."

"I'm sorry." She finally said, smiling hesitantly at her grandmother. Who smiled back. "I do love you, I always have. Even…"

"I know you do, darling, and I you. Perhaps I should have explained everything earlier, I had no idea what you thought of me. But we are British, we do not talk about our feelings." She added with a small smile, making Kate genuinely laugh.

"I suppose so."

**TBC…**

Starting now I think I will start to only update after getting 5 reviews on each new chapter… maybe that will motivate more people to review. I am not ashamed to admit it, I am a review junkie and I need an occasional fix to get my imagination flowing. Well, with most stories, for this one it just seem to flow out of my fingers when I sit down. But still… I want feedback from some new faces too, not that I don't love my loyal reviewers and all the wonderful feedback they give me! Thank you!


	18. A Vampire of Royal Descent

**Chapter EIGHTEEN**

By the time the guests arrived Kate was ready, her gown perfectly fitted, and a white gold necklace with some kind of black stone in the centre of the pendent Rested around her neck. It may not have been ideal, but it followed the dress code and the shape went well with the gown, and hair. Like always her grandmother had brought in a professional stylist to do their hair and make up, and they both looked impeccable. Though it was clear her grandmother had intended for Kate to be tell bell of the ball. Her own gown was much more reserved, and her mask not nearly as unique as the one she had given to her granddaughter.

Every few minutes Kate would glance towards the door, waiting for Godric to arrive. But strangely enough he was not the first vampire to do so. Instead her grandmother came gliding towards with vampire in the form of a teenage boy. He looked no older Godric, even with his mask on. In fact his appeared a year or two younger. He was also very good ad melting into human society, if she hadn't been around vampires as much as she had she would have thought him human. As it was she knew who it was before her Grandmother even spoke his name.

"Henry, I would like you to meet my granddaughter, Kathryn." She introduced, leaving out her surname as she always did. She still hoped Kate would agree to take her great grandmother's name, her grandfather's name, and her mother's maiden name. Kate didn't know why she didn't. She didn't particularly care what name she had, neither did her father, but her grandmother did.

Henry was tall for someone born the 14th century, he however lacked the good looks most little girls dream of in her prince. But he looked pleasant enough, maybe if he had been given the chance to become a man he would have grown into his nose and mouth. But being the son of a man that was able to attract so many wives despite killing the others he was someone one would expect to be able to at leased pass for attractive. But she supposed it proved it, it was only his royal position that allowed Henry VIII his many wives and mistresses. Never the less she smiled politely during the introduction, wondering about the curious gleam in the vampire's eyes as he took her in.

"Kathryn, this is Henry Fitzroy."

"Pleasure, my lady." He greeted, placing a kiss on her knuckles, something she had gotten used to with some of the other vampires. But then she was used to have Godric there glaring daggers at them as they did so.

"The pleasure is all mine, my lord." The words flowed with a practised ease. "My grandmother has spoken a great deal of you since you decided to make your presence known. I must admit I was most curious."

"Ah, but you are used to much older and more knowledgeable men than I." He said. So he knew who she was, or rather who she was to Godric.

"But I fear none are quite as famous as you or your mortal father." She said, though she could see the surprise in her grandmother's face she doubted anyone else would have been able to see though her mask. "May I ask who was bold enough to steal the king's child from him?"

"The Queen." He said without any particular emotion behind his words.

"He had quite a few, who?" She said, taking him by surprise.

"Our Queen." He said pointing, as if she should know whom he meant. Then she got it, the vampire queen.

"I see. I understand Godric went to meet with your maker last night." She said. Normally she would have made an apology for not going with her travel companion, but she knew most vampires would not have expected someone to bring 'his human' with him everywhere, certainly not to see vampire royalty and announce his presence in her territory.

"Yes, she was most upset you were not with him. I admit you have arisen all of our interest." He glanced at her grandmother, and she knew that he wanted her to leave. He wanted to talk to Kate more freely.

"Sara, there are other guests you need to see to." He told the older woman, she immediately left them, proving once and for all to Kate that her family was nothing special. Henry certainly didn't seem to have any difficulties glamouring her grandmother. When she was gone he looked back at Kate, she didn't say anything.

"The English court is very interested in the human who makes Death give up his area to follow her around the world, and then take another by force to stay by her side. You must be something extraordinary. Something truly exquisite."

"She is." An all too familiar voice said from behind her, and it did not sound pleased. She hadn't even noticed Godric arrive. "Mine."

"Of course, Sheriff." He agreed easily, he didn't seem surprised by Godric's appearance. "It is a pleasure seeing you again so soon. I am merely here on the lady's grandmother's request and took the opportunity to meet the woman who has so captured your interest. The Queen would very much like to meet her."

"Perhaps next time." Godric forced out in an as pleasant tone as he could. Normally he would have gone for cold or bland, she supposed he too was playacting for the surrounding humans.

"She insists, after the ball?"

"We are flying back to Edinburgh tonight."

"The Queen has already re-arranged your flight."

When the other vampire was gone Kate turned to see the annoyed vampire at her side. "Do we have to go? She is not your Queen."

"The Queen herself is young and I could easily ignored her summons, if I did not respect her as much as I do, she is after all only a year older than Henry. But her consort and maker is almost 1000 years older than I am. He is not to be crossed." He gave her a thoughtful look than added. "I suppose you should know, the vampire queen of England was also the human queen before her change. She was known as Catherine of Aragon. After she lost her royal title Stefanos, who had seen her grow up, was determined to make her a Queen once more. He claimed she was born for the position, and he did. He made her the Vampire Queen of England. He is her most efficient protector and sword. He fights any challengers to the throne, and punishes those who disobey his chosen Queen. We do not want him as our enemy unless we have no choice."

"Wonderful." She said dryly. "Is she dangerous?"

"No, she will not upset the King of Scotland by acting against one of his Sheriffs. Any action taken against me may lead to an all out war between the Scottish and English vampires. Catherine is not that foolish. But we will need to accept her summons or she would have the right to hunt and kill us as long as we remain in her domain."

"So, I am not only going to meet the son of Henry VIII tonight, I am also to meet his first Queen?"

"So it would seem."

"All the vamps here seem to have been of some historical significance. Should I expect Cleopatra or Napoleon to show up to? Maybe Elvis?"

"Doubtful, not here." He smiled. "Bubbah has not left the Americas since he was changed. He is not quite… right."

"Bubbah?"

"Elvis." Godric smiled, and Kate blanched.

"Are you saying all the Elvis sightings are real? He is still up and walking about?"

"Not all, but yes… though his change was not completely successful. And should you ever met him you should do well never to call him by his human name."

"What about Cleopatra?" She asked, she had to know.

"I am afraid that snake bite really killed her."

"Damn, that is a woman I would have loved to meet." Kate said with mock sadness.

"Very few truly significant characters from human history were reborn as one of us. I can think of perhaps a handful you would be impressed by."

"Who?" She asked eagerly.

"I would not like to ruin the surprise should you meet them." He teased.

"Hercules?"

"Would you be impressed by a man who killed his wife and child?"

"Not really." She agreed. "How about the Oracle of Delphi?" He didn't deny it. "Seriously? Can she really see the future?"

"Kate. This is not something that should be discussed in these surroundings. Perhaps you would introduce me to your grandmother instead?"

"If you plan to see if she can be glamoured, she can be. I just saw Henry do it."

"I merely want to meet your family." He told her softly, making her apologize.

"Sorry. I don't know where she is. Henry had her go see to the other guests. But she will no doubt reappear later."

"Then, did you have a pleasant day with her?"

"I did. She explained some things to me that made me feel like an idiot but it was a good day." She smiled.

"I am glad. You look beautiful, and not what I had expected from your tales of your grandmother's extravagance and, what did you call it? Princess fetish?"

"She surprised me." Kate admitted. "You look pretty good yourself." And he did, the black suit suited him well, the fitting, fabric and style were all impeccable. Even her grandmother would be impressed. The mask he wore was simple with out many ornaments. But it looked good too. Her grandmother had outdone herself with the masks and the ballroom. "Very handsome."

It wasn't until some time later Kate's grandmother came to their side, and while Kate had not know what she had expected to happen, or how her grandmother was going to behave, what happened was not it.

"I have nothing against vampires, and my granddaughter seems to love you." It wasn't the first thing her grandmother had said to them, but it was the first important thing, and somehow Kate knew what was coming. "But you must understand I still have come reservations about your relationship." Her grandmother looked at Godric expectantly until he nodded his understanding. "If you, as she claims, are indeed not using her, then I am sure you want her to get all she can from life."

"Of course." Godric agreed without missing a beat.

"Then you understand that she one day will want to marry and have children?"

"Grandmother!" Kate said appalled, she had not even considered having children, she just got her first real job!

"She is mine. She will marry no one but me. But if she wants children she shall have them."

"You want her child to be a bastard?"

"I would be the father. There is artificial insemination, among other things." He continued and all Kate could do was watch in horror and disbelief. But it seemed Godric had given things much more thought than she had, her main concern had been the aging. He seemed to have thought of everything.

"That is unnatural." Her grandmother told him flatly. Kate didn't agree, but she knew she wouldn't be able to convince her grandmother of that. She also knew she would never bring a child into her and Godric's world. She may love him, but in many ways it was a deadly world, full of restrictions and dangers that would destroy the child. It would be in constant danger of death and kidnapping. The choice was easy; she decided to lie.

"Grandmother." She said quietly, her unusual quietness drawing her attention. "You don't need to worry about him taking something from me that I can't have."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm barren."

"You are what?" She gasped, looking at her granddaughter with shocked eyes. Kate only looked back at her with a severe expression on her face.

"I never told anyone that. But I am. I'm sorry." She then turned to Godric. "I want to leave now." He nodded. She turned back to her grandmother. "I will call you when I get back to Edinburgh. Please don't bring this up again."

"Are you sure? I can contact-"

"Stop it." She ordered. "I have tried."

Godric didn't say a word as they walked to his car. But he didn't start it when they got in, instead he turned to Kate. "Why did you lie?"

"I am not having children. Our life is too dangerous. Are being ordered around by kings and queens, my life is in constant danger when I am with you. I wouldn't change it if I could. But that is a fact. I can not bring a child into this, ever. And I am okay with that."

"Kate…"

"It's okay. I never really thought about having children anyway. Now, we have somewhere else to go. Don't we? I have royalty to meet."

**TBC... So many reviews! Thank you! I don't think I ever had 8% of my readers review before! Thanks!**

**Now, I think I have left enough clues for you all to figure out how Godric survived, or rather who Kate's non-human genes comes from. Any guesses?**


	19. A Vampire Queen's Consort

**Chapter NINTEEN**

The home of the Vampire Queen of England was strangely enough more low-key than that of Kate's grandmother. It could have could have been the home of any upper-class London family… at least on the outside.

Inside the house was more majestic, though still a far cry from Hampton Court… though while Kate knew it was a favourite of the Queen's late husband, she didn't know of the Queen had ever stayed there with him… she simply assumed she had. Maybe she should have done a Wikipedia search before she told Godric to drive to the Queen's home, and 'get this visit over with'. But she had not… perhaps that would have stopped her from staring at the vampire monarch in surprise when she saw her.

Somehow Kate had gotten so used to all vampires she met being youthful, and beautiful that this one stunned her. Catherine of Aragon was by no means ugly, but she was not young and beautiful. She was a dignified woman. And she carried her age well, she looked to be in her mid to late 50s, but like Kate's grandmother the held herself with self-confidence an elegance. She was dressed in a modern skirt suit in the latest fashion, which Kate couldn't help but be a little disappointed by. For some reason he had expected to see her on full 1530's regalia… she looked too normal. She was so lost in her thoughts that she almost forgot to curtsy until Godric bowed to the woman.

"Queen Catherine."

"Godric, it is always good to see you. I apologize for sending for you so crudely." The words were empty, but polite. "I admit, after you left last night I became more and more curious of your lady."

"I can only be honoured that you wanted to see me again so soon. And Kate." Godric responded. "May I introduce you to her?" The queen nodded her consent.

It was during this little performance Kate's eyes locked with the young man standing behind the queen, or rather vampire. His eyes seemed glued to her, while most vampires present were more interested in Godric than her this one seemed to have no interest in her vampire. Only her. It was strange.

Noticing Kate's eyes over her shoulder the queen played her part, and introduced the vampire. "This is my consort, Stefanos. He has been by my side since childhood."

Having the name Kate immediately made the connection. The Queen's maker. He was very handsome, dark curly hair, and eyes with the colour of the night sky, so dark blue they almost looked black. Most would probably mistake them for brown. His body looked to have stopped aging in its early twenties, perhaps three or four years after Godric's body clock had stopped ticking. And like Godric he was a few inches shorter than Kate. But it didn't take from his beauty.

After the introduction Stefanos stepped around his Queen and walked up to Kate, took her hand in his and placed his lips to her knuckles, ignoring Godric completely as if he was not worth his notice.

"I have not have the pleasure of meeting one such as you in many centuries. It is an honour." He told her, than, almost reluctantly, he turned towards Godric. "It is indeed a rare gem you have found. I wonder if you will be able to keep her. Tell me, who are her parents?"

"She is the Marchioness's granddaughter, Kathryn Miller." Henry answered from the shadows before Godric or Kate could reply. Kate hadn't seen him when they entered, he must have left her grandmother's ball at the same time as she and Godric had.

"How very curious." Stefanos said, looking her over again as if to make sure he wasn't mistaken, his eyes lingering on her blond locks. "I am almost afraid to touch your hair, my lady, may I?" Hesitantly Kate nodded and he reached out to touch it, almost reverently.

With some discomfort Kate forced herself to stay still and ignore not only the unease the other vampire's proximity brought her but also the displeasure that seemed to grow in the Queen's eyes. Then Stefanos finally took a step back, still looking at her.

"It seems I feared unnecessarily, I am not burned." He turned to Godric. "She is a child of the sun, is she not? I have only before tasted the children of thunder and war. It was a true gift they offered me. Daphne's blood made me hunger for war, I could not stop fighting for months. Gaius's blood on the other hand gave me energy like no others… I needn't rest for days. Tell me, what is her blood like? Does it burn?"

"What are you talking about?" Kate couldn't help but ask. He smiled, and he truly looked angelic when he did so. He looked like a dark angel. It was no surprise the god-fearing catholic Catherine had been in life had been drawn to him.

"They are not what they once were but the blood is potent in you. Had you lived when your lover was mortal you would have been protected, perhaps even worshiped. But now they believe in this one…" he sounded disgusted in the end, but kept the rest of his remark to himself as he glanced up at his child. Then he looked back at Kate with soft eyes and added. "He will come for you. I do not doubt it. You will know what you are soon enough. I hope I shall see you again."

Their visit was not a long one and soon the Queen dismissed both Kate and Godric from her presence. Stefanos eyes barely left Kate throughout the meeting and the moment they were dismissed Godric all but swept her away from them at vampiric speed. As they drove Kate protested as they drove passed the hotel and drove straight to the airport. But Godric ignored her, he did not say a word throughout the entire ride. Nor did he look at her. It was not until he led her onto the plane that he spoke.

"Do not let other vampires touch you." He warned, he was barely able to hold the growl from his voice. "He wants you."

"What was he talking about?" Kate asked instead of dignifying his demand with a response. It was not as if she had invited him to touch her or even flirted with him. "Children of the sun, war, and thunder? He sounded deranged. Who are these 'they' he talked about?"

"I do not know. But he knows what you are. Do not even think about going with them if they come for you, whoever they are. I will kill anyone who tries to take from you from me."

"First you say someone who has been loyal to one woman for 500 years wants me, then you act as if someone else is going to kidnap me, or even worse, that I intend to run away with someone into the sunset, well I guess sunrise. Godric this is insane." Kate informed him.

"What have you not told me? I saw your face when he called you child of the sun. Tell me now, I do not have much patience left."

"Nothing!" She all but yelled, wondering it if was a good or bad thing that they were stuck in a plane. "My dad sometimes claims my mum is the sun's favourite child, and every time he does she will laugh and say; 'I am just the granddaughter'. I have never thought much about it. I still don't... it was just wired. Can we please drop this now?"

"I need to know what you are."

"Why does it matter?" She asked, finally having enough. "I don't care. I have always considered myself human, is that not good enough for you? Because that is all I am going to be. If that is not enough than tell me now and we will end this."

"I need to know in order to protect you, now that someone knows what you are it is only a matter of time before something happens." She laughed, it was dead and cold.

"How stupid of me, of course it isn't. It never was enough, was it? You were going to kill yourself, you only changed your mind when you decided I was something else. God, I am so stupid…" She shook her head and looked away from him, her eyes firmly on the dark landscape below their plane as her heart began to crack. She was an idiot.

"Kate." Godric said softly now, seeming to finally understand he had done something wrong. Gone too far."You are more than enough. You are everything. But if I don't know what you are I won't know who will want to take you from me, who I will need to fight. Who I can seek help from. I need to know. I will not loose you and to insure that I need to know everything. Please."

"Fine." She said coldly, finally looking back at him. "You want to know everything about me? At the age of six most girls want to be princesses, I wanted to be a lifeguard so I would be in the sun all day. When I was 16 I lost my virginity, and I dreamed up an entire life with that boy. We were going to get married on a beach in Bali at sunset. Then we would stay there, he was going to rent out jet skies and I was going to teach English to the locals. We were going to have two children, a boy and a girl. I even had the names picked out, Sebastian and Elizabeth. When it was time for them to start school we were going to move back to Europe, better schools I thought, maybe France. Then we would grow old together by the sea, reading books on the beach, drinking wine and eating cheese in the garden. Tell me, how much of that can you give me?"

"Are those still your dreams?" He ask, no longer even a hint of emotion in his voice.

"Of course not, they are childish and impractical. But I am changing my entire life for you. You moved yes, but you are still Sheriff. You have everyone that were on your side before still there. Most of my old friends barely speak to me now. I used to have a crush on James and him on me, but we were best friends and didn't want to jeopardize it. But I thought we would become a couple when I got back from my trip, instead I came back with you, and spend more than half my days sleeping so I can spend time with you at night. James hates me because you killed Callum and sent Jack away. My roommate all but kicked me out because she was afraid of you. And if that wasn't enough I spend my work day trying to figure out how to slowly democratize the vampire political system. By being with you I have lost my human life, and now you want to take my very humanity from me too? Just so that… I don't even know." She said, her voice breaking in the end.

"I-" He began then stopped himself, not sure what to say. "I did not know you felt that way. I thought you were happy."

"I am. I happily gave all that up for you. But sometime enough will have to be enough. Don't take my humanity from me, Godric. There will be nothing of me left. If something comes after me we will face it, but right now it is all speculation. And whatever Stefanos seems to think I am, he seems almost reverent. He won't come after me or tell anyone what I am. He wouldn't even tell me. So please..."

"Fine." Godric agreed. "We will cross that bridge when we come to it."

"If it comes." Kate corrected. "And promise me."

"I promise." He told her, earning himself a small smile.

"Thank you."

**TBC... still no guess as to what Kate is? I think there will be maybe one or two chapters more before I reveal it, maybe even in the next one. I want guesses to see if I left enough clues! Pretty please?**


	20. A Vampire's True Creator

**Chapter TWENTY **

Time passed quickly after the ball, nothing happened, and before Kate knew it, it was Christmas and she was faced with a choice. Her patents were going to Australia, and wanted her to come with them, but that would leave her without Godric for a month. She honestly didn't know if she could stand being away from him so long, and she knew that, as a newly established Sheriff, there was no chance he could come with them. Her mind made up she called her parents. To say it was a pleasant conversation would have been a lie, but she blamed it work and there was little they could argue against that. She was becoming far too good a liar in her own opinion. Still one glance at her sleeping vampire told her she had made the right choice. She would make sure he got a real Christmas, with tree, presents, and every other tradition she could think of. But for now she would enjoy one of the rare sunny Edinburgh mornings from the safety of Godric's bedroom.

Smiling at the sun on the other side of the UV window Kate marvelled at modern inventions. For thousands of years seeing the sun had been impossible for all vampires, but now… granted it was not nearly impressive or grand as it was standing outside with the sun one's face, but still… It had to have been amazing for Godric the first time he could stare out at the sun without fearing for his life.

Too bad they couldn't feel the sun's warmth through the window. Though some times she could almost imagine feeling it when she in front of the windows. Now was one of those moments, if she hadn't known better she would have sworn she could feel the sun's heat on her arms and face. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling; maybe she should go out for a run before she snuck back into bed with her sleeping vampire. It might be a little cold at first but she would work up a heat fairly quickly. At the thought of heat her eyes flew open, her arms felt as if they were burning. After that everything seemed to happen in slow motion, the window seemed to shiver for ages, then… one minute it was there, the next it was gone.

Without thinking or even hesitating Kate threw herself on the bed and tried to push Godric's body out of the sunlight. But before she could even reach him she was consumed by a burning heat, once again she felt as if she was on fire, and she distantly noted that apparently one did not get used to the pain. It was just as intense as it had been on the rooftop in Dallas. Only this time the pain disappeared into nothingness after a few seconds, and instead of blacking out she heard the sound of clapping hands from behind her. She ignored it, her eyes immediately seeking out Godric. He was unharmed, fast asleep, and the room was covered in darkness. The curtains had been drawn. She was just about to launch for a light switch, she needed to see the invader, when the light from one of the table lamps switched on behind her and she reluctantly turned to face her audience… Whatever was going on it could not be good.

The sight that greeted her was like nothing she had ever seen. A person. His body was strong and the very epitome of health. His eyes were the colour of the Mediterranean on a beautiful summer day and his hair might very well have been spun out of the sun itself. He was neither young nor old, he was ageless. He was male perfection to the very last detail. If Stefanos was a dark angel, than this creature before her was a god. He was smiling pleasantly at her, and he frightened her like no other.

"Who are you?" She asked, her voice quivering. He ignored her.

"That was quite a little performance you put on there. A little loud perhaps, but impressive non-the-less. When I heard the rumours I didn't believe them at first, thankfully no one else did either. Your grandfather was such a disappointment you see. He was good looking, musical, and charming, nothing special, he might as well have been part Fae." He said it as if was a personal affront to him. "I hadn't intended for Elizabeth to fall with child. That was an oversight on my part. After Thomas I didn't bother, as a result I decided not to bother with you. I thought my blood would be too weak in you… That was my second mistake. You are magnificent; in thousands of years none of my blood have had the power you have. You are quite extraordinary."

"Who are you?" She asked again. And again he ignored her.

"Naturally we will have to train you before I present you to the others. But with a little luck I will be able to get you that golden apple, so to speak." He added, as if the term would explain what he was talking about. It didn't.

"WHO ARE YOU?!" She yelled, finally having enough. He stopped, looking at her with surprised eyes as if he hadn't heard her the first two times, or even seen her.

"You know who I am, Kathryn. Elizabeth certainly didn't keep our affair secret."

"That is impossible." Kate denied. "It is a family legend. No one actually believes it. It is a story some Greek guy used to pick her up."

"You know it is the truth. How else can you do what you can do? How else have you saved that vampire from the sun? Not once, but twice. You certainly didn't use ant fae magic or witch magic. You drew the sun into you, you controlled the sun. Not even Aristaios is able to do it to that extreme. For a limited time he can cool an area down, slightly. He has always been my favourite because of it. But I am the only one able to actually control the sun, to control its energy. Or I was."

"This is insane." She denied. "I don't know how you are here, or what you did to the window. But I can't do anything extraordinary. And I have no idea what you are talking about."

"I melted it, you should be able to do the same with a little training. You could be one of us. Given a little time and training I have no doubt you will ascend."

"I don't want to be one of you, whatever that is. I am human, I want to be human."

"You were never human. We are much more than that. Humans call us Gods. At the very least you would be considered a demi-god."

"Not anymore. They stopped believing in you." She said, ignoring the part about her. It was easier that way.

"It became tedious keeping up the pretence." He admitted. "We let ourselves fall into myths and legends. But there are those who still believe in us, who know about us, who serve us."

"Stefanos." She guessed. The god laughed.

"Oh no. He was merely a pet project of Ares's a long time ago. Though I admit it was fairly curious to watch it play out."

"What do you mean?"

"Ares never cared much for his female children. When Stefanos unknowingly drank from one and gain an unmatched thirst for war… well, Ares was very impressed by the effects her blood and hunted down one of our Zeus's many unknown bastards and gave him to him too. Just to see what would happen. To say Zeus was displeased would be too kind. Let's just say Ares little experiment ended there. Tell me, how does your blood affect your vampire? I would have thought it would burn him to ashes. Even a drop of my blood is enough for such a feat."

"It burns, like whiskey. He has never bitten me and had only had dead blood."

"Dead blood?" He repeated, seemingly unfamiliar with the term.

"Blood from wounds, he never pulled from the source."

"Interesting." Kate shook her head; she would not be lead around like a puppy.

"Why are you here?"

"To see if you really were as extraordinary as rumours said."

"What rumours?"

"My pythia was made vampire, she has risen to a position of power in their world, she hears things and she tells me if they are interesting. You were very interesting."

"And you thought testing me was worth Godric's life?"

"What is a nightwalker more or less? Filthy creatures. I never intended to create them, they are a side-effect of an unspecified curse I placed on a woman a long ago after she wronged me most grievously. She now fancies herself the mother of the vampire race. She is as foolish now as she was in her youth."

"He is my vampire." She told him angrily. "He matters to me."

"And you saved him, proving your worth. Good work." He said dismissingly.

"What do you want from me?" She demanded, feeling certain she would get little else out of him.

"You are mine. In time I plan to bring you home, to teach you, to let you earn what should have been yours by birth; immortality. Godhood."

"Didn't you say you weren't Gods?"

"Not in so many words, but no we are not. What we are is superior. We are truly immortal; we have power over nature, over humans and the supernatural. We could be gods, if we chose to be so again. But… as I said… it becomes tedious after a while. Everything has its time, our time as gods is not now."

"Then what are you? What purpose do you serve?"

"Purpose? What purpose does anyone or any species serve? Like any other reasonably intelligent beings we have the power to create and destroy, to learn and to teach. To take life and to give life. Though our offspring is less and less powerful. That is why you are important. One as powerful as you has not been born in millennia."

"I don't want immortality." She said, and even as she said it she knew it was a lie. If she was immortal she wouldn't age, she wouldn't have to leave Godric, she would be free from the limitations of time. But she was not willing to become something else to earn it.

"You lie." He said. "I was not known as the god of prophecy and knowledge for nothing. Do not take me for a fool again. You may have your reserves, but one day you will beg me to make you as pure as I. Until then I will teach you to hone your power, to give you a chance to prove your worth to the others, and earn the right when you wish it."

"You want to teach me to control the sun? Your personal weapon? And you want nothing in return?"

"You are my blood, it is my duty to teach you. It is an honour that belongs to you."

"What about my mother?"

"She is of no interest to me, she is even weaker than her father."

"She is of your blood."

"Barely. She is too human. And humans are of no use to us, they will merely witter and die."

"I age, I will die." Kate insisted.

"It is not your fate." He said confidently. "No matter the outcome, old age will never cause your demise."

"Is that a prophecy spoken by the great Apollo himself?"

"Finally she says my name." He smiled, and as far as Kate could tell it was a genuine one. It was breath-taking. "And yes. There are many possible futures for you, but old age will not take your life in any of them."

**TBC…**

So, some of you got it right. Apollo. What do you think? Am I taking the story too far from the TB? I figured if they had maenads in TB and the Pythia in Southern Vampire Chronicles it should be fine. What do you think? I promise not to make it into a Percy Jackson kind of story (I have neither read the books nor seen the movie so maybe a promise is too strong, but If I do so, then know it wasn't intentional.)


	21. A Vampire Myth

**Chapter TWENTY-ONE**

By the time sun set Kate had still not been able to make herself leave the bedroom, or let go of Godric. She hadn't done so since she allowed herself to curl up on the bed. Apollo's visit hadn't been long, nor had he tried anything more after his 'test' of her abilities. But it had been draining, and every flutter in the curtains afterwards had made her heart beat faster in fear.

She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't notice Godric stir until he spoke. "Did you feel a sudden urge to refurnish the bedroom while I slept?"

After Apollo had disappeared, and he had disappeared; he one second he was in the room and then he took a step and was gone, Kate had pulled on all the strength she had to push furniture around, attempting to block the window and secure the window the best she could. To say the room was a mess would be putting it mildly, and she was fairly sure she had left scratches all over the wooden floor as she had pushed things around. But she couldn't muster the energy to even flush at Godric's comment.

"The window melted." She said instead, not letting him go. "You almost died, again."

"And how did this happen?" He asked with remarkable calm, she had half expected him to go to the window and look, or angrily demand an explanation.

"A God came to visit." She said, her voice dead to her own ears. "He wanted to see if I could save you again."

"A God?" He asked, sounding more alert, and unlike before she could hear how forced his calm was. Taking a deep breath Kate forced herself to sit up, though she could not make herself stop touching Godric. It was pathetic, but she almost lost him. Then she told him, and she told him everything to the last detail, except one thing. There was no real need to mention the family legend she had disregarded telling him before, it had been too absurd to be true, or so she had thought.

"You are the descendent of the God of music, poetry, plague, oracles, sun, medicine, light and knowledge?"

"Yes." She said hesitantly.

"The old Gods are real?" She had forgotten he had actually been alive at the time people paid homage to the Athenian and Roman pantheon. It had to be a strange concept for him to grasp.

"They are not really gods. They are just superior. His words." She added quickly, as if surprised by her own words.

"What exactly do they want from you?"

"I don't think the others know I exist, but he said he would train me. I agreed."

"Why would you do such a thing?" Godric demanded, sounding disbelieving. "The old Gods are not the merciful and benevolent God of your faith."

"First of all, I am not Christian. Second, I grew up hearing these stories. Most children heard sleeping beauty, I heard about Hercules's trails. Believe me, I know what they are like. And thirdly, I didn't really have a choice. He almost killed you to test me, if I didn't agree to my training, how do you think he would have gone about it? He would have forced me by using you. He says I need to prove my worth so I can ascend." Seeing Godric's expression she quickly added. "I have no intention of ascending. I like being human. But knowing how to use this... whatever it is… wouldn't hurt."

"I have seen you use it, you are in pain." He disagreed.

"He said I didn't have to be. He will teach me."

"How?"

"He didn't say."

"Kate…"

"I'm really tired." She said, effectively cutting him off. "I haven't slept or left this room all day because I didn't trust the curtains to keep you safe. Nor have I eaten. I have told you everything that happened, now I just want to get something to eat and drink. Then I am going to do the human thing tonight, sleep. And you are moving down to the safe room in the basement. I no longer trust unbreakable UV glass. It melts."

"It takes thousands of degrees to do that, even a lazar is not strong enough." Godric told her.

"Well, my great granddaddy didn't have a problem. And until he is done with me, you are staying safe during daylight hours. I have to listen to your impossible demands to keep me safe, you better do this for me."

"Of course." He smiled, kissing her lips softly. He seemed to know just what she needed, he would ask his questions and do his demands later. For now he would listen. "Thank you for guarding me." This time she did blush.

Kate was surprised to find Godric sitting next to her on the bed in the guest bedroom when her woke up. And one glance at the window was enough to make her scowl at him. The sun would be rising any minute.

"You should be locked away safely underground." She told him, annoyed.

"I wanted to say good morning before I go into my daytime rest." He explained. "You ate too little last night. I brought you breakfast in bed." He added, gesturing for a tray with coffee, eggs Florentine, and some sautéed vegetables. He must hate the smell in his home, but for her he had done it. She tried to retain her scowl, but she couldn't. Instead a small smile took its place. At that moment she could have sworn Godric was perfect, a true angel, her angel.

"Ok, thank you. Good morning. Now go." She said. He only smiled, and kissed her. He was in a strangely good mood, but she let it go. He needed to find cover. "Go!" He smiled again, and the next second he was gone. Maybe that was how Apollo had done, if Godric could move fast enough for him to become invisible to her, surely Apollo could.

She had no more than let the god's name passed though her mind before he appeared next to her, and just as he did the sun sneaked over the horizon. Two sunny days in a row, it had to be Apollo's doing.

"He genuinely seems to care for you." Apollo commented, sounding perplexed, not even bothering with a greeting.

"I didn't expect you back so soon." Kate said, putting her food tray to the side.

"By all means, eat." He said, upon seeing her action. "You will need your strength."

"You couldn't have let all this sink in even for a day?" She asked.

"Your human life is short, why waste time. And I gave you a day and a night." She ignored that. "We will start small, we should go outside."

"It's cold." She protested, and it was. It was close to zero outside.

"The sun is not as strong here, it should be easier in this environment. Less painful. But perhaps we can remain inside if you wish. Though soon warmth and cold will have no effect in you, not once you learn to control your power. I think we will start there. Does your vampire have any normal windows that can open?"

Kate spent the next three hours trying to 'feel the sun' and make it warm her up, as she sat in front of a wide-open window fighting against the freezing late autumn wind, while Apollo talked. The faint sunlight did little to keep her warm, nor was Apollo's 'instructions' or tales. He certainly liked to talk. Perhaps the knowledge how to control the sun had been something he had been born with, as humans knew how to breath when they were born. Either way he certainly wasn't the most adept instructor. By the time he left she had been able to heat herself up, somewhat, but wasn't exactly sure if she had actually heated herself up or merely become so numb to the cold that she thought she wasn't cold anymore. She thought the later was the more reasonable conclusion.

By the time Godric woke for the night, Kate was already in bed, huddled up under layers and layers of duvets and blankets, determined to kill the cold she was bound to have invited during the day's efforts with Apollo.

"Are you ill?" Godric asked concerned.

"Not yet." She said, sinking further into her soft packaging. She doubted Godric could see much of her, she certainly couldn't see much of him from where she was.

"Would you like some soup?" He asked, making her smile. Most of Godric's knowledge of human medicine was either ancient or from TV and movies. This appeared to come from the TV.

"No, thank you. But you are welcome to buddle up here with me if you have time?" She knew the warmth would have little effect on his body temperature, but she wouldn't mind having something a little more solid to snuggle up against.

When he was under the blankets and duvets, her arms wrapped safely around his chest, he spoke.

"What happened today?"

"Gods are stupid." Was her only reply, making him tense.

"He was here again? I thought you said he would not harm you."

"He didn't. He was trying to teach me, and he is stupid. He has no idea what he is doing. All I am going to get from his lessons is a cold. He did talk a lot though. Do you know how vampires came to be?"

"According to legend Lilith was the first vampire, supposedly made in God's image. She's believed by many vampires to have been created before Adam and Eve, who, according to the Book of the Vampyr, were designed to sustain Lilith. Her progeny in turn would be sustained by their children, the human race. Lilith is worshiped as a god by many vampires." Godric confessed.

"Nice story, very biblical. But it is wrong." Kate smiled a little at Godric's surprised expression. "Lilith was born a regular human named Helene, an early priestess of Apollo and Artemis, and with a beautiful sister. Apollo was in the process of wooing her sister, he believed she would be able to give him strong children, so out of jealousy Helene convinced her sister to run away and wed the mortal she loved. After her wedding night she was no longer worthy and Helene thought Apollo would choose her, he didn't. Instead he punished her; cursed her to be unable to stand the sun. It would burn her as surely as fire. Even the reflected sunlight of the moon would cause her harm. Artemis, who was upset Apollo had cost them both of their best priestesses gave her some of her blood, in hopes that it would allow her to walk under the moon at least and still serve her. It caused a great rift between Apollo and his sister; they would never share a temple again. But the blood did more than allow Helene to bath in the moonlight again; it gave her what you now consider the vampire abilities. Helene didn't take the name Lilith until much later, when she encounter Judaism."

"He told you this?"

"He got bored watching me slowly freeze to death, I think. His teaching method leaves much to be desired."

"What did he do?"

"He told me to sit in front in the sun in front of a open window, feel the sun, and command it to keep me warm. Then there was a lot of complaining that I must be doing it wrong, while he told me different stories. Mostly about women he had tired to sire worthy children with. Apparently that is really difficult, even other 'goddesses'. Some times even they produce powerless mortal children. That was how we came to the subject of Helene and her sister."

"You are of great value to him then. Something he has desired for a long time."

"If I can learn to control this power, then maybe." She admitted. "He seems sure I will be able to though, and he is known as the God of Prophecy for a reason." She smiled a little and added. "Or so he claims. I have seen no proof. He is not really frightening either, at least not while you are safely underground. But I don't know why he wants me."

"Everyone wants a worthy progeny, with age it becomes more important."

"You only have Eric and Nora. You don't seem to want more."

"I chose well. In some ways it is easier for a vampire. We can already see many of our intended progenies characteristics before we give our blood. A human can not, nor, it seems, can the gods."

"You are saying he wants a child?"

"A progeny of his own blood." He corrected. "One like him. Even among the Gods his abilities are unique, you are the first like him. Because of you he is no longer alone."

**TBC…**

Ok, so did this give you more insight into Apollo and what and why he might want Kate? If you don't know much about Apollo or the Greek gods, don't worry about it. I will tell you all you need to know as the story progresses. I will also change a few things, as some of you may already see I have. As far as I know for example Apollo and Artemis never shared a temple, and the "birth" of the powerful old gods and their origin will be explained in later chapters, I think. If it becomes important to the story, either way I already have a version in my head.


	22. A Vampire Babysitter

**Chapter TWENTY-TWO **

Sometime, curled up next to Godric, Kate fell asleep, and when she woke he was gone and she was curled up in their bed, in their room. The window was fixed, yet Godric had followed her wishes and gone underground. Briefly she wondered if that would really be enough to stop Apollo if he decided using Godric was the best way to train her. She quickly pushed the thought away, and pulled the duvet over her head. It was Sunday, she had no work, it was daytime, and so far no god had showed up in her room. She smiled. Kate hadn't really had any alone time in ages, or at least it felt that way.

After that realisation she made one single promise to herself. She was going to do absolutely nothing, she was going to bury her head in the sand and until sunset she would forget there was such a thing as vampires, fae, gods, or any other supernatural entities. She was going to be normal. And for a hardworking 28-year-old that meant sleeping late, a big unhealthy brunch in front of the TV, then more TV, and, if Godric was busy later, a friend and a bottle of wine, maybe two. It was going to be glorious.

Okay, so perhaps it wasn't what would have been her dream day before, then she would have at least switched the TV for books, but she needed not to think, not to let her mind wander, and to relax. She could think of few better things than watching telly. The only question that remained was what she would watch, she could watch whatever was on, but that probably would allow her mind to wander back to real worries and life, or she could watch one of her season dvd-boxes. She hadn't watched any of those in ages. Looking over at the stack she saw the Big Bang Theory, Criminal Minds, Doctor Who, White Collar… and more. Apparently she had more than she thought she did. Though she supposed it wasn't too impressive seeing how she rarely had more than one season of each series, and that James had given most of them to her when he moved from his old dorm room, claiming he would throw them away if she didn't take them.

She quickly disregarded criminal minds, being in no mood for violent deaths, but the rest were fair game. The brunch idea was also quickly disregarded when she took a look in the very empty fridge. She settled for ordering in pizza and cheesy bread sticks instead. All she was missing was some ice cream, but for that she would have to go to Tesco and it simply wasn't worth it. So by two o'clock she was settled into the sofa with her duvet, a pizza carton, coke, and a remote control.

For once Stan was the first to wake of the two vampires in the house. He hadn't been in for the last two nights, he had been away on 'vampire business', and with all that had happened in that time she had honestly forgotten about him. It was almost nice to see him again, it was normal, but from the expression on his face he didn't feel the same.

"What is that stink?"

"Cold pizza." She said happily. She was in a good mood; it seemed repression worked well for her. She should try it more often. "How was your trip? Got to kill anyone?" He smirked.

"Now, I can't tell you that. The Sheriff tells me to leave you out of our business." That was news to Kate, and she didn't like it. She had never asked before because she had never really cared to know what Stan was up to. She didn't now either, but knowing that Godric was trying to keep things from her bothered her.

"Our business?" She asked; she needed him to specify. Though she was fairly sure she knew.

"Vampire business." His smirk had grown; he knew he had hit on a sore spot.

"Ah, so who's got the bigger fangs then." She summarised nonchalantly. "Can't say I care one way or another."

"You know, little human, I really look forward to the day the sheriff grows tired of you, I am going to drink you dry, then I will tare you limb for limb until there are only little pieces left."

"See, that is where we may have a problem. You see, Godric is never going to grow tired of me. You on the other hand are expendable. I am not."

"A human is never worth more than a vampire, the Sheriff knows that. Vampire blood is sacred."

"But so is my blood." She said without thinking. "I am something you have never seen before."

"Sorry to break it to you, but humans with too much self-worth is hardly something new."

"Who said I was human?" She asked and the words shocked her more than Stan. She was human, she still saw herself as human. Didn't she? Stan only laughed.

"If you were anything more than human filth I would know by now."

"Are you sure?" She couldn't help but ask. "What are your standing orders concerning me?" She knew that one at least, and the smug smirk on Stan's face fell.

"You think too much of yourself." Stan informed her without his usual condescension. It almost worried her.

"And you think to lowly. We could be friends, but you insist on seeing me as dinner."

"That is what humans are."

"What about Diana?" She asked. She didn't know much about the human, but she knew she was Stan's day person, and that she had been with him for decades, through two children and two husbands. Godric said Stan was very protective of her. He hadn't said more, but it had been his response when she had questioned Stan's ability to see worth in humans. In short Godric had been telling her that he could.

"She is useful in other ways."

"She came with you here, didn't she?" He didn't reply. "I want to met her." Again he said nothing. "I could be a good friend to have."

"What was it that made you suggest me to the Sheriff? To tell him to send for me?" She didn't know Stan knew that, and it stumped her for a second.

"I want someone Godric can trust by his side. I don't like any of the Edinburgh vamps, at least not the older ones."

"You like me then?" He smirked, she laughed.

"If I get to choose between a nasty flu and cancer, I am going to choose the flu. You would die for Godric, and as long as Godric cares for me, you will never harm me." He said nothing. "Now why are you here this fine evening?"

"The Sheriff had business to take care of, he wanted me to keep you safe."

"He is being overprotective." She dismissed, trying to make him leave.

"As you said, I do what the Sheriff tells me to."

"And you have to keep an eye on me? Follow me around?" She asked with a glint in her eyes that made Stan question his decision to come to Edinburgh.

"Yes…"

"You know what? I think I need to go and get a pedicure, then I want some Chinese for dinner. I know this great buffet I used to go to as a student. After that I was thinking the movies. A romantic comedy, I think they have something with Sandra Bullock playing at the Odeon. I just know you will love it." If he was going to be a dick, she could be one right back. In fact, with Stan, she was willing to make an art form of it.

But by the time they reached the movie theatre Kate didn't really have it in her to make him suffer any more, at least not through a film she didn't even want to see herself. Two hours surrounded by overly fried chicken, beef, pork and tofu, deep fried shrimp with sweet and sour sauce, steamed pork and cheap crab, not to mention oily fried rice and noodles… she kind of felt bad for the vamp. Even if she couldn't claim he had taken his suffering with silent grace.

"If you promise not to complain about the popcorn and other smells inside I will skip the Sandra Bullock movie and see an action movie instead. We have a deal?" She asked expectantly, and surprisingly he agreed fairly quickly. Probably he had learned his lesson at the nail salon, the more difficult he was, the worse she had made him suffer. Same with the restaurant; the more he complained, the slower she ate.

By the time they were walking through the doors to Godric's house they were both in an animated conversation about the movie, the lack of vampires in the Marvel universe, and the unrealistic fighting scenes. To say Godric was surprised when both of them barely acknowledged him, and continued with their 'discussion' was an understatement. Apparently the curiosity remained as Godric snuck into bed with her later, as he almost always did when she went to bed, even if she knew he got out again when she was asleep. After all 4 am was too early for a vampire to go to sleep. But she had work to do the next day, and even if she didn't start until after lunch (and worked until 8 or 9 pm) thanks to her vampire boss schedule she still needed to go to sleep before Godric most days.

"You took Stan on a date?" Godric asked her, sounding more amused than jealous.

"Not a date. I would never do what I did to you. But I thought he needed to learn not to piss of the human, and what better way than force him to go to a very stinking nail salon, a cheap greasy Chinese restaurant, and a the smelliest cinema I know. I swear last time I was there someone had pied in the back. It was cleaner this time. But I did take some pity on him and didn't force him to sit though a romantic comedy. Don't I get points for that?"

"He seemed to have enjoyed the movie, if nothing else." He admitted, still amused.

"Of course, they were killing things and fighting the whole time. And who can resist Loki?" She grinned.

"The Norse god of mischief?" Godric said, sounding unsure.

"Let's just say they don't really stick to the real mythology. It's based on a comic. Though it was written before vampires revealed themselves, so the movie didn't have vampires in it. I think Stan took offence to that."

"Alright." He said, though he still seemed lost. "But I would appreciate if you did not take to torture my second when I am gone."

"I don't need a babysitter, certainly not one who keeps telling me he wants to kill me." She told him without thinking. But upon seeing the suddenly blank expression on Godric's face she saw her error and corrected it the best she could. "Not that he would, you know that. Even he admitted that. But he will always bug me the wrong way."

"If it wasn't for him we would not have met. I fear most vampires would have killed you without consulting me. That is after all the AVL's ruling on humans that cannot be glamoured. Technically that does overrule my orders. But as you said, despite his many flaws, Stan is loyal."

"Which is why he is here, you need loyal vampires around you."

"Your opinion on the local vampires is very low." He commented. "I thought your work might have improved it."

"Some, but the older ones are still… I don't trust them any further than I can throw them."

"Then you are wiser than most humans."

"I trust 3 vampires, well 3.5." She told him, earning her a small smile.

"And who would these three point five be?" He already knew, but she indulged him.

"You, Isabel, Eric, and Stan, as long as you are alive. You love me. Eric is absolutely loyal to you; he would never harm me, unless it was to protect you. Neither would Isabel, out of respect for you. Stan wouldn't harm me either, but the moment you grew tired of me, or die, he would do what he pleased. And I doubt few things would give him more pleasure than drink me dry. At least until my blood burns him from the inside out." She added, the end of her statement making Gordic stiffen. She glanced up at him, suddenly nervous, it seemed she hadn't told him about that, as she added. "Even a drop from Apollo's blood would kill a vampire, he thinks a large dosage of my blood, taken directly from the source, would have the same effect. So I guess you should never try to feed from me."

"I had no intention to, you are not food." She smiled at that, thinking back to the first time they had gone to Itadakimas, their first meal together. It may not have been their first date, but it had been the start of their relationship. She had told him something similar then, and he remembered. He even seemed to have made it into something of a silent vow to himself. If there was such a thing as a perfect man, he was it. And she told him so.

"I am far from perfection." He disagreed, but smiled at her before placing a quick kiss on her lips. "Now, sleep."

**TBC…**

**I only got 4 reviews on the last chapter! You are making me break my 5 review rule! Please give me more feedback, am I straying to far from the TB world? What about Kate? Is she dealing with things a realistic way? Does she still seem 'normal' or has she become less relatable because of Apollo? What about Godric? Is he still in character? Stan? Are you worried I will give the Greek gods too much importance? Please, feedback! **


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